


Hawk and Dove

by Emmazing15



Series: The Mutant Genesis [1]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Chaptered, Complete, F/M, Gen, M/M, Phanfiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-18
Updated: 2016-07-18
Packaged: 2018-05-02 07:06:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 74,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5239049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emmazing15/pseuds/Emmazing15
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where super powers plague people all over the world, Dan Howell fights to keep his emotions and pyrokinesis under control. After years of success, Dan is outed and whisked away to a school that claims to teach him to use his abilities "safely". Still unable to control the fire that seems to rage under his skin, Dan's only solace is in his roommate Phil, who can't seem to stop turning things to ice. While trying to end the corruption at The School, the team discovers the real reason they're being held. In an explosion of fist fights, super suits, and betrayal, Dan and Phil try to do what they feel is right.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. "You're steaming."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the DC heroes Hawk and Dove whom I loosely based my characters on.

It all started around puberty, like most things do. In normal cases, boys turn into young men and welcome things like body hair growth and voice deepening. Although awkward, it was usually a process that was exciting and harmless. Unless you were Dan. In that case, puberty brought something that was the opposite of normal. One day when he was twelve, he was arguing with his little brother, and suddenly the lounge curtains were on fire.

After the smoke detectors had gone off, everyone except for Dan's father was standing on the sidewalk. Mr. Howell had brought in the garden hose from the garage and doused the fire. All the windows were open to let the lingering smoke out. The sofa and carpet were singed. The curtains were unsalvageable. Everyone was confused.

"Boys," Mrs. Howell, the family dog under her arm, had turned to her sons, "What happened in there?"

"I don't know!" cried Adrien, tears springing in the seven-year-old's eyes, "D-Dan was yelling at me, and-and-and then the curtains exploded!"

Dan looked outraged. "I didn't do it! They were just on fire suddenly!" he said, wanting to make sure that he was not in fact the only person yelling in the situation, "And Adrien was yelling too!"

Mrs. Howell looked between her sons apprehensively. "Well, whatever happened, be more careful," she advised before her husband opened the front door and said they should be okay.

His mother and Adrien went into the house first, the smaller boy forgetting his distress and just being happy to get out of the early winter cold. Dan fell back, his heart rate suddenly increasing as a thought dawned on him. He didn't feel cold at all.

The next incident occurred just a few weeks later at school. Dan had not been doing well in maths class... in fact, he was nearly failing, and to pass the semester he needed at least a B on the last test. He was a nervous wreck until his maths lesson. Then, as the teacher handed tests back, she gave Dan his with a disconcerting sigh. When he flipped over the paper, he spotted a big red D written in the corner. He hadn't failed the test, but the semester was out the window. This was it, wasn't it? Dan thought. It was over, he would never get out of Berkshire, he would never go to university, and he was a failure.

Dan crumpled the test paper in his hands while he squeezed his jaw. It wasn't long before he started to smell something burning. Dan opened his fists to see that the paper he crumpled had started to turn brown and curl as if it had been thrown into a fire. With wide eyes, he quickly stuffed it into his backpack and looked around. The kids around him were looking around curiously. They probably smelled the burning paper.

But how did he make it burn? He was angry, yes, he felt like he could have set the paper on fire but that didn't usually mean he could actually set it on fire. So that day, in Year 5, Dan figured out that he was not like the other kids. He was one of them.

Different, mutant, super, whatever they were. At that point, all Dan knew about them was that they were taken away from their families and sent somewhere far away to play with their freaky powers. That would not be him. That was not what he wanted.

Dan kept his abilities to himself for quite some time. For a while it was easy. Don't get worked up, don't burn anything. Year 9 was when that started to get hard. Stress started to get to teenage Dan, and his powers were getting harder and harder to control. After he had singed his duvet and burned his English essay for the third time, he decided he needed to do some research. When his parents and brother were safely asleep in their beds, Dan stole down to the den to use the family desktop computer. It wasn't much, but harnessing the power of Google was the best way to get information without leaving a trace.

Dan discovered that people like him were considered dangerous. They were taken "willingly" from their families and sent to a "school" where they could "learn to control their powers" in the safety of their "state of the art facilities" surrounded by their "peers". It sounded like a prison for freaks. It gave Dan some solace that there were others like him, but he didn't want to go with them. He heard of them all the time. It was rumored that John Milton never returned to school after Year 7 because he woke up one morning eight feet tall. Adrien once told Dan that a girl had to leave his class because she accidently broke a table in half.

They were everywhere. And they never stuck around very long.

Dan closed Google and quickly cleared the search history. The government thought he was dangerous. What was he going to do, have a melt down and set the entire world on fire? Dan looked at his hands, which were warming with his thoughts. Maybe he could.

With the knowledge that he could be taken away at any moment if anyone found out, Dan worked extremely hard to keep his emotions and his powers in check. As Year 9 faded into Year 10 and then 11, the Howells started to notice their son's indifference. They grew increasingly tired of Dan having no opinions and saying the word "whatever". As he crept up on seventeen, his parents decided that he should be over the reclusive-teen-phase.

"Daniel," said his mother after dinner one night, "Is there something wrong?"

Dan looked up from washing his dinner plate. "No, I'm fine," he replied.

"Are you sure?" she pressed, "You've just seemed so disconnected lately-"

"For a while, actually," his father interjected.

"-and we just want to make sure you're okay," she finished. Dan carefully placed the plate in the dish drainer and placed his wet hands on the kitchen counter. He opened his mouth to retaliate, but his mother started talking again. "We know you want to go away to university in a couple years, Daniel, and we want to make sure you're okay before we send you away."

Send him away. "I'm fine," he said again.

"Then why are you so sad all the time?" his mother asked.

"I'm not sad-"

"You certainly have a funny way of showing it," said his father.

"Dad, I'm just trying to-"

"It doesn't matter, you're concerning us, and you can't just-"

"Listen, I have a lot going on-"

"You're a teenager, what could you possibly have going on?"

"James!" his mother hissed.

Dan narrowed his eyes, fuming silently. They didn't understand, even now when they thought he was just having normal teenage problems. They definitely wouldn't understand if he told them his real problems. He would have to keep this a secret his whole life and hope to dear God that he wouldn't-

"Dan!"

"What?" he snapped, lifting his head to stare at his parents.

"You're steaming," his mother squeaked.

Dan laughed mirthlessly. "Yes, I know, you guys are pissing me off, I'm fine-"

"No, Dan," his father said quietly, "You're literally steaming."

Oh no. Dan slowly looked down to where his hands were gripping the kitchen counter, still wet after he washed the dishes. Well, they were wet, but not anymore. His hands were emanating steady little clouds of white steam as the water evaporated off of them. He had lost control again and let the heat get the best of him. In front of his parents. He looked at them again. Comprehension dawned on their faces. They knew now.

"Okay, okay," said Dan, holding up his hands, "You guys have to trust me on this. I'm not dangerous. I've known that I can do this since I was twelve, and nothing bad has happened."

His mother looked almost fearful. "Dan, this is illegal. Unhealthy and unsafe. You should be at that special school in London, where you can learn everything you need to learn, and be happy." she said.

"I am happy!" he said, and realized that perhaps he was lying. Maybe there was something he could do with his abilities... no. People like him went to London and then never came back. Who knows what they did to them there. It was like walking down a dark corridor without knowing what was at the end. "I can't go there, mum. It's unpredictable. I won't be happy, I'll be alone, and I won't be able to go to university, which I've been working towards my whole life," Dan said, pleading now, "Please don't tell anyone. Everything has to be normal."

His parents exchanged a look. "Yes, alright. We'll keep it to ourselves," said his mother, "Just promise you won't burn anything again? This actually explains so much."

Dan smiled gratefully. "I'll try my best," he said. He walked forward and gave her a hug. She went rigid for only a moment before hugging him back. Dan was safe, and he knew his parents would keep him safe. He didn't know why he ever distrusted them to do the right thing.


	2. "You told?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the DC heroes Hawk and Dove whom I loosely based my characters on.

For a while everything was alright. After telling his parents, Dan didn’t feel so stretched thin anymore. In fact he felt much better, and instead of focusing on keeping the fire within him, he could focus on more important things. Like getting through Year 12 without combusting or making anything else combust.

Dan always had trouble in the friend area. He only ever had a couple as a kid, and as a teenager with a problem showing emotions he didn’t really attract anyone. Dating was a whole other thing that he never got to do. Crushes came and went, but it was almost out of the question to be with anyone. If his heart starts pumping too fast, his skin gets too hot, and his clothes starts to curl away from the heat. If he’s too excited, the air starts to spark. Too angry, things burst into flames around him. These things never change, no matter how much he likes to tell himself he’s in control. He’s not. He knows it. But there’s not much else he can do.

However, one time, he can’t help himself. The summer before his last year of school, a girl named Alex calls him. Alex was in drama with him, and she was quite pretty, and she wanted to go out to lunch. Dan was stunned. Yeah, he wanted to go out. They had lunch the Saturday following her call. And it was pretty great.

Dan and Alex dated for the whole of that summer. And then the first few months of Year 13. His parents liked her. Her parents liked him. Not once did the Howells bring up Dan’s… differences. And then, spring came. Spring in England was honestly not that different from winter in England. The only thing that was different was the fact that Dan could now wear his favorite leather jacket to the shopping center with Alex instead of his freaky Dementor coat.

Alex walked silently next to him while the two of them followed the crowd around the shopping center. Dan stole a glance at her. She had hardly said a word the whole time. “Are you okay?” he asked her softly.

Alex bit her lip. “Can we sit down?” she said.

Dan said, “Of course, yeah,” and led her over to the food court. They sat at a table for two and Dan held his hand out for her to hold. She took it and gave it a squeeze. She didn’t comment about how warm his hands were anymore.

He was about to ask if something was wrong when she let out a long breath through her teeth. “Dan, I think we should break up,” she said.

Dan’s heart plummeted. “What?” he said.

Alex looked down at their joined hands. “I don’t think we should keep going on like this. Our last year of school is almost over now, and I know how important university is to you. If we go to different colleges, what happens then?”

“I think we could make it work,” Dan muttered. He thought they were so happy.

She shook her head. “I’m already freaking out over it. I don’t want to stress you out as well,” she said, “So this is the end.”

“But-”

“Ow!” Alex pulled her hand away suddenly, as if she had been burned.

Dan’s eyes widened and he quickly folded his hands in his lap. He didn’t notice how worked up he was getting on the inside while he focused on her. That had never happened before. Play it cool. “What happened, are you alright?” he asked convincingly. He silently thanked years of drama.

Alex looked down at her hand and nodded slowly. “Yes, it’s nothing,” she said quietly. Thankfully she seemed to think she imagined it.

“So, you’re really breaking up with me?” said Dan.

Alex nodded and got to her feet. “I’m sorry, Dan,” she said, “See you around, okay?”

Dan nodded numbly and didn’t watch her walk away. He couldn’t believe that just happened. After months of happiness she just up and broke it off. During their relationship, he had not once burned something. Not even singed. He was doing so well. Now what? Now he was going to go away to university alone and heartbroken without any help-

Someone screamed suddenly. Dan jumped and turned in his chair to be met with a horrific sight. One of the potted trees sitting in the center of the food court (for “ambience”) was completely on fire. Dan leapt to his feet while a crowd of people started to surge out of the doors. The fire alarms started to shriek through the whole building. Dan left with the crowd, taking deep breaths to cool himself down. He knew the tree going up in flames was his fault. He wasn’t paying close enough attention.

Then again, he had never set something on fire in public before.

Dan stood outside the shopping center with the curious crowd as the fire department came in to put out the tree. Honestly, he was terrified. If this is what happens every time he gets broken up with, how will he ever have a girlfriend again? It was all too confusing.

That evening when Dan was on the sofa with his parents, a news story about the fire at the shopping center came up. When the word “spontaneous” came up, Dan had to leave the room. He couldn’t bear to hear the speculation and see his parents glance at him through the corners of their eyes.

Weeks later, it happened. Dan came home from school, headphones over his ears as usual, and noticed two men in suits sitting on the sofa. His mother was standing before them, his brother leaning on the wall beside her. Dan took off his headphones and looked between them all curiously. When his father walked into the room with a suitcase, it all seemed to click. His mother started crying and the two men stood.

_No. No, they didn’t._

“Daniel Howell?” said one of the men as he buttoned his suit jacket.

Dan stepped back. “Who’s asking?” he said, although he really already knew. He clenched his hands into fists, trying to fight the heat rising beneath his skin.

“We’re from the Department of Defense,” said the other man, “We’ve been informed that you possess certain abilities that could be a danger to yourself, your family, and your society. So we are here to escort you to our facilities where you will safely learn to-”

“You told?” Dan demanded loudly, looking between his weeping mother and his stony father, “After you promised?”

“-control your abilities and become a learned citizen of your country.” finished the man, talking over Dan’s distress.

“Daniel, we didn’t know what to do,” said his mother, “You set something on fire in a public building, you could have hurt lots of people!”

“But I didn’t!” Dan protested. He stepped away again as the men advanced.

“Don’t struggle, son. It’ll just make it harder.” said his father.

He felt a hand on his arm and he jerked it away as hard as he could. He felt an even stronger one and then a pinch in the back of his hand. “Ah!” he gasped, pulling his hand back, which he was sure would be burning hot by now.

“That was simply a precaution,” said one of the men. Dan’s vision started to blur. “Your powers will be dulled for a bit.”

A bit? Dan thought foggily. He could hardly focus on anything.

Dan wasn’t really sure what happened next. He felt some pressure around him a couple times, as if he were being hugged by pillows. He couldn’t quite feel where things were touching him. Soon he felt his environment shift as someone helped him out of the house and into the back of a black van. Where was he going? Why was the room spinning? He heard dull slamming sounds and men’s voices. The seat he was in felt so comfortable. Dan closed his eyes. Maybe if he took a nap, everything would be back to normal when he woke up.


	3. "Hello, Daniel."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the DC heroes Hawk and Dove whom I loosely based my characters on.

When Dan opened his eyes, everything was  _not_ normal. In fact, everything was completely foreign. He sat up quickly, gasping, and took in his surroundings. The room he was in was almost completely steel save for a couple plastic chairs and a mirror on the wall opposite him. He grasped at the edges of the strange table he was on top of, and noticed he was sitting on a scratchy sort of cloth.

Dan raised his head and looked at his reflection. The skin under his eyes was noticeably purple, as if he hasn’t slept for days, even though he just woke up. His hair was sticking up everywhere and after he tried to flatten it, Dan realized it was disgustingly greasy as well. He needed a shower. He needed a bed. He almost wanted to go home- and then he remembered his parents ratted on him and suddenly he never wanted to see them again.

“Is there any way I can get out of here?” Dan shouted into the void. He didn’t see a door anywhere. There were no windows either.

Suddenly the wall to the right of the mirror slid open to reveal a rectangle of light. Dan jumped off the table. A woman walked into the room. She was tall, blond, and supermodel gorgeous. “Hello, Daniel,” she said, her accent charmingly American, “Welcome to The School. Glad to see you’re awake.”

“The School?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

The woman smiled. “Yes. Here we will teach you to use your abilities safely. You do recall your abilities, right?”

“Yeah,” said Dan, straightening his rumpled shirt, “I’m just surprised that a place like this doesn’t have a more creative name.”

She smiled again, except this time it was a different kind of smile. Dan couldn’t quite place it. “I’m Jenna Mourey. I’m your case manager, and for today, your tour guide.” she gestured to the door as if she were a flight attendant.

Dan self-consciously tried to flatten his hair again as he left the room. Jenna followed him, and the door slid shut behind her. When he looked back, it was just a wall, as if the room didn’t exist at all. “So, what was that room?” he asked her.

“That’s where everyone goes when they’re new. They’re hidden so the current students don’t come snooping,” said Jenna over the clacking of her high heels, “It was actually pretty entertaining. When you were first brought in, no one could touch you without special gloves. And you almost melted the table you were laying on, which is why we had to put a fire retardant blanket on it.”

Dan had to laugh a little. He liked Jenna. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

“So we’re currently in the basement of the building. There are quite a few rooms down here like the one you were just in, as well as a weight room, gym, and a music room.” Jenna said as Dan looked around. The hallway looked very similar to the room that Dan woke up in, and for the first time maybe ever he felt cold. Not physically, but chilled. He hoped the whole school didn’t look like this.

“Did you say music room?” asked Dan, catching up with Jenna as she walked quickly.

She nodded. “It’s not used very often, but it’s there. It’s mostly just cabinets of sheet music but there’s a piano and guitars and some other things.”

Dan nodded appreciatively. He stopped taking piano lessons when he was about fourteen (mostly because it frustrated it him and he left burnt finger prints on the ivory), but he had been missing it. Maybe he could make that a way to relieve his stress about this whole thing now that he’s grown.

Jenna turned a corner and started to climb a staircase. Dan wordlessly followed her and took in his surroundings. When they reached the top of the staircase, everything seemed to change. The walls were still stark white as if he were in a hospital, but now there were people around. There girls and boys, and they were chatting and walking and even laughing. Oddly enough, it had a very school-like feeling to it despite the aura of over-cleanliness.

“This is the main floor,” Jenna said, pausing at the top of the stairs, “This is where most of your food options are. There’s a cafeteria, an auditorium, and a library.”

Dan stuffed his hands in his pockets and followed Jenna as she walked straight down the hall in front of them. They passed quite a few people on the way, and they all looked very normal. They didn’t look tortured at all. As he continues through The School, he discovered that the rumors he’s heard over the years might be wrong. This school just might teach him how to stop setting things on fire.

“Down this way you’ll be able to see into the gym. This is where you’ll be spending most of your time the first couple years you’re here,” Jenna explained, pointing to a wall of bright windows at the end of the hall.

“Years?” Dan asked, his eyes widening.

Jenna turned to smile at him. “It’s part of the speech. It’s really just how long it takes to get your powers under control. But at this point, with what I’ve seen, it might take you a while.” she said.

Dan nodded. He had to agree. Even now, when he was just walking on his own, he felt heat rising under his skin. It seemed when he focused on it, it got worse.

“Take a look,” said Jenna, nodding towards the windows.

Dan peered through the window and found himself looking into a large sunken gymnasium. Everything was white but the floor, which was black. The gym was peppered with people. As he watched, he pressed himself into the glass. There were things happening down there that he’s never seen before. He watched a skinny boy make vines wrap around a pole and snap it in half. There was a girl standing on a balance bar, but at a closer look, she was actually hovering over it.

“Wow,” he muttered.

“Pretty great, right?” Jenna said, “There are rooms surrounding the gym for more specialized powers so the others don’t get hurt and the equipment isn’t damaged.” Suddenly a punching bag exploded in a cloud of white chalk. Dan stepped away. “Well, more than usual.” Jenna added, “You’ll probably be spending a lot of time in those types of rooms.”

She turned down the next hallway and Dan followed her. “The next couple levels are offices. Trainers and our  _lovely_ government officials work up there. People like me also get their own offices,” she said.

It struck Dan that he didn’t know anything about Jenna other than her name. “People like you?” he asked.

“Let’s see… we’re kind of like school prefects,” she explained, “You’re British, you know what that is. I’ve been here a while. Since I was nine, actually. I got my powers under control a long time ago, and since I’m such a  _model citizen_ , they gave me the job of mentoring the newbies.”

“So you have powers too?” Dan asked.

Jenna nodded. “Here,” she held out her hand. Dan looked at her for a moment before taking her hand to shake. He suddenly felt a pulse of electric shock as their hands connected.

He pulled away, gasping. He was unused to such a burning pain, so similar to how a fire would feel, but completely different at the same time. Jenna was laughing. “You newbies always fall for it,” she sighed, “Electricity, Daniel. I’m like a walking lightning rod.”

Dan massaged his palm with the thumb of his other hand. “Dan,” he corrected quietly.

Jenna grinned at him. “Dan, then,” she said. She stopped outside of a set of wooden doors and placed her hand on a handle. “This is the auditorium. Here you and a couple other newbies will get the rundown of how your life will be here. It’s lucky you woke up today. The next presentation isn’t for another week.”

She pushed the door open and showed him in. The auditorium was like nothing he had ever seen before. It was like stepping into a theater in the West End. There was a group of others sitting near the massive stage, so Dan assumed that’s where he should be.

“Afterwards come find me out here. I’ll have to show you to your room.” Jenna said. Dan nodded and she closed the door behind him.

He joined the others at the front by sitting at the end of the last row. He was now hyperaware that he was dirty and pale, while everyone else looked fresh. He was probably the only one who looked like he was out of the ordinary. He sunk down in his chair and tried to focus on his surroundings instead of his intense need of a shower.

“Did you just arrive as well?” asked a voice to his left. Dan looked up and spotted a girl, smiling at him sweetly with glossy red lips.

Dan nodded. “Yes.”

The girl sighed happily. “Oh, good. I woke up yesterday. Really gave me a fright, I remember falling asleep on the train here,” she said, “I’m Zoe.”

“Dan,” he replied.      

“Pleasure,” she said with a smile, “You look around my age. How old are you, twenty? I’m twenty.”

Dan blinked. This girl knew how to talk. “I’ll be nineteen in June.”

Zoe smiled. “Oh, good, you are my age! Have you noticed how young all the others are?” she added in a whisper, leaning over the arm of her seat.

Dan looked around. He hadn’t noticed before, but most of their fellow ‘newbies’ were in fact children. One of them looked to be around twelve. He looked back at Zoe, startled.

“Apparently there are more even younger ones,” she explained with wide eyes, “But because they’re so young, special teachers come here to finish their required education until they’re sixteen. At least that’s what Alfie told me.” Dan was about to ask who Alfie was when Zoe talked again. “My case manager,” she said with a smile, “He’s very nice.”

Before they could get in any more words, a woman appeared on the stage before them. She had dark hair in a tight bun and was wearing a pantsuit. For the first time since waking up, Dan felt intimidated. “Welcome to The School, everyone. I am Dr. Susan Hurley, and I run this facility. I’m here to tell you what your life will be like here. It’s about to change for good.”

Dan glanced around at the others. He wasn’t the only one squirming in his seat.

Dr. Hurley resumed after a dramatic pause. “Here at The School we strive to teach every young person with special abilities to harness their power without endangering themselves or the country. Once they are under control, they will be assigned to a government position to help out young people just like them.” She paced the stage as she paused again. No one made a sound. “The School is now your home. Your fellow students are now your family. Here, no one will tell you that you are strange. You are all alike. And one day, you will all do some good for the future generations.

“Now, upon your arrival, your things were taken to your assigned room. Depending on space availability, you will all have at least one roommate of the same sex that we have on file from your report. If you’d like a change, let your case manager know,” Dr. Hurley paused again, “I’m sure you all will be very at home here, just like our current students. Thank you for your time. Your practice begins tomorrow.”

Dr. Hurley left the stage promptly. Dan looked around and waited for someone else to stand up before he decided to take his leave. He was about halfway to the door when he noticed that Zoe was walking behind him.

“Hey, so, I’m curious,” he asked her, “Did you say you fell asleep on the train here?”

She nodded. “Yes. I’m from Brighton, so when two of the officials came to collect me, we drove from my house to the train station and we rode in to London. I don’t remember how I actually got here, though. I fell asleep on the train and woke up in that funny room on a table.”

“So you weren’t freaking out, or angry, or anything?” Dan wondered.

“I knew they were coming,” said Zoe, “I turned myself in.”

“Why?”

“I wanted to be with others like me, and I wasn’t doing so well at university anyway,” she replied.

Dan looked at his feet. At least she had the chance to try. “What can you do?”

“What can you do?” she echoed. Dan looked over and stopped in his tracks. He was looking at  _himself._ Greasy brown hair, dimples, leather jacket, everything. Dan stared, stunned, and his clone started to laugh. His image shimmered a bit and shrank, and then it was Zoe again.

Dan took a breath. “Why do people keep doing that to me?” he said.

Zoe walked over and took his hand, leading the rest of the way to the door. “I’m sorry, I’ve only gotten to do that a couple times. It was fun though.” she said, “I’m a shapeshifter. I can morph myself into anyone once I’ve had a good look at them.”

“That’s actually really cool,” said Dan with a grin.

“Thanks! What can you do?” she wondered. They had made it to the hallway now. Jenna was leaning against the windows looking into the gym, watching the people practicing below.

“Oh, I don’t think there’s a word for it, but -“

“Yes, there is,” said Jenna without looking away from the window, “Pyrokinesis.”

“Is that a word?” Dan asked while Zoe just looked confused.

Jenna nodded and finally looked over. “Stephen King invented it, I think. It means you can control fire,” she replied.

“Wow,” said Zoe, “That sounds fun.”

“It would be if I  _could_ control it, I’m sure,” Dan muttered.

Jenna looked at her watch. “Well, come on, Dan. I have to show you your room. I’m sure you want to clean up,” she said.

Dan nodded. Zoe quickly hugged him around the neck. “Great to meet you, Dan! I’ll see you around.” she said with a smile. She turned and headed the opposite way, presumably looking for her version of Jenna.

“This way,” Jenna said, nodding down the hallway, “We have lots of stairs to climb.”

Dan groaned and followed her, preparing himself for tasting blood. He’s never been in shape, because he spent lots of time being lazy, and he had a feeling this would be painful.

As Dan puffed behind her as they went up the stairs, Jenna said, “I see you made a new friend very quickly.”

“She was sitting next to me,” he claimed, “She was very animated. She turned herself in and was really excited about this entire thing. Her name is Zoe.”

“What’s her power?”

“She’s a shapeshifter. She can turn into anyone she wants as long as she knows what they look like,” he replied, “Pretty cool, right?”

Jenna paused for only a second before continuing up the stairs. “Very.” she said simply. Dan didn’t reply and tried to focus on not passing out.

After about eight flights of stairs (it was really only five, but to Dan it felt like agony) they reached his floor. The hallway was lamely similar to the rest of the building, and he had a sudden fear that the room he would be living in for  _the rest of his life_ would be stark and boring as well. He didn’t think he would be very happy with that.

“Let’s see,” said Jenna as she pulled an index card out of the pocket of her blazer, “Room 519, double. Looks like you got lucky and only have roommate. He is… oh, you get Phil.”

Dan raised his eyebrows. “Phil?”

“Great guy,” Jenna replied with a grin. Dan followed her down several more hallways before they paused in front of a door with the number 519 in silver over the top. Jenna turned over her index card and untaped a silver key from the back of it. She handed it to Dan. “There you go, it’s all yours. I’ll be in touch, okay? You’ll get your schedule at breakfast tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” he said with a nod.

Jenna nodded. “Good luck.” She grinned at him once more before turning to leave, her heels echoing all the way down the linoleum.

Dan unlocked the door and tentatively pushed it open. The lights were off. Once he found the switch and could see everything properly, he discovered that room wasn’t as hospital-esque as the rest of the building. In fact, it looked like a very small apartment or maybe a large dorm room. There was a tiny room to receive people in, where there was a small counter with a microwave and a tea kettle on it, as well as a couple black sofas. The door to the left was closed; the door to the right was open. He checked out the right room first.

Inside was a bed with the covers all in a ball, a wardrobe, a bedside table, and a desk. His roommate Phil must live here. It sure  _looked_ like a boy his age lived in this room, Dan thought as he surveyed the pile of dirty clothes at the end of the bed. Even the shades on the window were closed, making the room look incredibly dark and small.

In the left room was the exact same thing, except his suitcase was sitting on top of the bed and it was immaculately clean. First thing he had to do was take a shower. Dan opened his suitcase and pulled out a t-shirt and a new pair of jeans, and hoped there was shampoo and things provided because he didn’t have any.

 Once he reached the adjoining bathroom, he was glad he was right. There were two bottles in the shower labeled shampoo and conditioner and one labeled body wash. Dan didn’t know what else he was going to do, so he took a long shower. He took his time scrubbing his greasy head and massaging in conditioner once it started to curl. He even sung a little. Shower singing was serious to Dan.

Once he was done in the shower, he headed to his new bedroom on just a towel. He was glad the room was still empty save for him. After he was dry and clothes, Dan decided to start putting his things away. Living out of a suitcase would just prolong his getting used to being there. So Dan put away all the t-shirts his dad thought to pack him, as well as a couple jumpers, and then all his jeans. His laptop was there as well. As Dan pushed his curls from his forehead, he had a terrifying thought.

 _His dad didn’t think to pack his hair straightener. Oh god._  He would have bedhead forever.

When he reached the bottom of the bag, he found a framed picture. It was of his family, from when they went to India on vacation.

That was before they knew about Dan’s abilities. They looked happy. Dan sat on his bed and sighed. No matter how upset he felt with his parents for turning him in and getting him sent away, it still worried him that he might not be able to see them ever again. Would he miss his brother’s graduation? Probably. Would he get to see them for Christmas? Who knows. That was so far the worst part of being at The School; all the uncertainties. He hardly knew anything about his “new home”.

When Dan placed the photo on his desk he heard the door open and slam. And then humming. His roommate was back.

Dan got up and opened his bedroom door a crack. He peered into the lounge, and spotted a boy with black hair turning on the kettle. Dan pushed his door open a little more, causing it to squeak, which caused the guy to turn and look.

“Hi,” he said with a smile, “You must be Daniel.”

Dan pushed his door open all the way and nodded. “Dan,” he replied.

“Hi, Dan. I’m Phil,” he said, approaching Dan with his hand out.

Dan reached out to shake his hand, smiling a little. “Nice to-” Suddenly he heard a loud hissing noise, as if someone had pressed a hot iron against a wet sponge. Dan looked down to where he was shaking Phil’s hand, and at the same time they both seemed to notice the fact that their hands were steaming.

They jumped apart quickly. Dan looked at Phil with wide eyes. Phil laughed awkwardly. “That’s never happened before,” he said, “Usually people complain that I’ve given them frost bite.”


	4. "Check it out, Phil."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the DC heroes Hawk and Dove whom I loosely based my characters on.

“Frost bite?”

Phil nodded. “That’s my power. Ice,” he said, looking down at his hand, “I’ve been getting better at not freezing things since I’ve been here, but I’m still quite cold to the touch most of the time.”

Dan stared at him, flexing his right hand. He’s adapted to shaking with his right over the years although he was predominantly left handed. It usually led to a less awkward situation. Anyway, this couldn’t be true. Dan could not have gotten randomly placed with someone who had powers on the opposite side of the same spectrum. It was too much of a coincidence.

“What can you do?” Phil asked, leaning against the counter.

“Er, fire,” Dan replied as he tried to figure out what to do with his hands, “I’m pyrokinetic.”

  Phil raised his eyebrows. “So that’s why we produced steam. You’re hot and I’m cold. We’re polar opposites,” he said, a grin sliding onto his face.

“I guess so,” said Dan.

“How weird that this should happen,” mused Phil, crossing his arms. Dan was taller than Phil by a few centimeters, but Phil just looked  _bigger_. “Do you think it was on purpose?” he added.

“Dr. Hurley said it was random,” Dan muttered.

Phil let out a short laugh and looked down at his feet. “Right,” he said softly. The kettle started to hiss behind him. He turned and unplugged it before producing two mugs from the cupboards by his knees. “Hot chocolate?” Phil asked.

“Oh,” said Dan, “I thought you were making tea.”

“Tea is for the weak,” Phil replied as he poured two mugs full, “Also known as me after a morning of practice. Besides, tea is only good warm, and as soon as I touch a mug it becomes too cold to enjoy properly. I can only handle so much. So, hot chocolate it is.”

Phil handed Dan and mug, and he found the other boy was right. The glass was so cold it produced another tiny cloud of steam as Phil handed it over to Dan. Phil took a sip, but when Dan moved to do the same, he found his drink steaming hot again. He supposed there was one perk to being warm all the time.

“It looks like you have the same problems that I do,” said Dan.

“Really?”

He nodded. “I’ve touched things and burnt a hole right through them before. I once made an egg burst just by holding it. Convection or whatever.”

“No way,” said Phil, “That sounds so much cooler than what I’ve done. I just can’t drink hot things, or hold onto doorknobs for too long.”

Dan made a face. “Why not?”

“The next person who touches it would get stuck to the metal. It would be like sticking your tongue to a pole in the winter time,” Phil said.

“That doesn’t sound pleasant,” Dan remarked.

Phil shook his head. “My brother hasn’t been too fond of me for a while.”

“How long have you been here?” Dan asked, placing his mug on the side table.

Phil blew air out of his lips. “About nine months now,” he nodded, “I haven’t been getting much better at the whole control thing though.”

“Great,” said Dan sardonically. He thought that maybe it was alright that his parents turned him in on the hope that he would be able to control the heat. With that new information, his bitterness returned full force.

“I mean, others get better,” Phil added quickly, “There’s a girl I met when I got here, Carrie, who used to not be able to talk because it would burst people’s eardrums. She’s got a thing with her voice. Now, she talks perfectly normal, and decides when to burst people’s eardrums.”

Dan raised an eyebrow. Phil plowed on. “So it’s definitely possible. I can things under pressure, and even though I still freeze things when I touch them, I know I’ll-”

“Phil,” Dan interrupted, holding up his hand, “I believe you. I’m just impatient.”

The other boy nodded and took a long gulp of his cold drink. “Sorry. I just haven’t let myself lose faith,” he said quietly.

“It’s good  _you_  have that quality,” said Dan, “I don’t think I’d still be optimistic after nine months.”

Phil shrugged, smiling. “Well, what else do I have? Some plaid shirts, this tiny room, a few friends, and uncontrollable ice powers.”

“And a pretty swag roommate,” Dan added seriously.

Phil laughed. Dan smiled in response and finished off his drink. So far he liked everyone he met. Jenna, Zoe, and Phil were all normal and even nice. The rumors that circulated around the people he grew up with were false- they weren’t weird. Dr. Hurley was right, Dan decided. They were all alike.

The next morning Dan was woken up by an insane beeping noise. He shot into a sitting position and glared around the room looking for the source of the noise. Seconds after he sat up, though, the beeping stopped. He looked suspiciously around the room. The hell was that?

“Phil?” he called, pushing his covers aside. The noise had been so loud; he doubted his roommate slept through it.

And he was right. “Yeah?” he heard Phil answer.

“Did you hear that?” he asked as he pushed the door open and went out into the lounge. He could see Phil in the bathroom brushing his teeth.

“What?” he asked through a mouthful of toothpaste.

Dan stretched. “That beeping. It was so freaking loud…” he said, looking around the room again.           

“Oh, that was the alarm,” Phil explained after he rinsed out his mouth, “It’s built into the walls, or something. It goes off every morning at the same time in every room, except for weekends.”

Dan cocked his head. “It’s  _built in?_ ”

“Yep,” Phil replied as he walked past Dan and back into his room, “You should hurry and get ready as well. We’re on a schedule.”

“We are?”

Phil closed his door and spoke to Dan through it. “In two hours your first practice session will start. You’ll want to get as much done before then as you can, including breakfast.”

“What do I need to get done before then?” Dan asked, running his hand through his hair nervously.

The bedroom door opened and Phil smiled at him. However, Dan was distracted by the large bear on his shirt. “You’ll at least want to stretch.” he said and walked around Dan to turn on the kettle.

Dan wore a black a t-shirt –like any other day- and his one pair of lounge pants. Phil mentioned stretching, which meant there would be physical activity, which Dan was not a fan of. In fact, it made him dread ever having to leave this room. While the water ran after he brushed his teeth, Dan tried to tame his brown curls. He tousled them and patted them down, but nothing impressed him. He would just have to live with eternal bedhead then. When Dan walked out of the bathroom and regarded Phil sitting on the sofa reading a book, he felt insanely jealous of the boy’s perfect hair.

Thankfully Phil offered to walk with Dan to the cafeteria, because he had no idea where it was. All the corridors looked the same. He could hardly remember all the turns Jenna took when she showed him around. When they came upon the cafeteria, which was a large white room with round tables and a couple wood burning fireplaces, they had an hour and half before “practice sessions” started.

Upon their entering, Phil paused at a kiosk with a computer screen sitting on it. He tapped it a couple times and then a little slip of paper the size of an index card printed out of the bottom of the monitor. Dan stared at it, confused, and Phil turned.

“You type your name in to get your schedule for the day,” he explained, “It’s a touch screen.”

Dan nodded and tapped the screen. A message popped up asking for his name as well as a virtual keyboard. He put his name in and the screen turned off right as his own card printed out. He studied it for a moment before joining Phil in a line on the wall.

“What is the purpose of this?” he asked.

“It’s your schedule, like school,” Phil replied, “They don’t really change day to day, at least not for people like us.”

“Then what’s the point?”

“To keep track of everyone, maybe,” said Phil with a shrug, “They say the population here is rapidly growing lately.”

“The man has to keep track of their freaks, after all,” added a voice from behind Dan. He turned and found a curly haired blond girl, smiling coyly.

Phil leaned over. “Morning, Carrie,” he said cheerfully.     

So this was the girl with the vocal powers. For someone who didn’t speak at all before she came here, she sure had a lovely voice. “Hi, Phil,” she said, “Who’s your new friend?”

“This is Dan. He arrived yesterday and is my new roommate,” he said, clapping Dan on the shoulder.

“Pleasure,” said Carrie with a wider smile, “How are you enjoying meeting fellow freaks?”

Dan blinked awkwardly for a moment. “Er, I’ve only met a couple, but so far they’ve all been pretty cool,” he said with a nod.

“Excellent,” Carrie replied, copying his nod.

It didn’t take Dan very long to figure out that they were queuing up for breakfast. While he waited, Dan read his schedule card. From nine to eleven “breakfast” was listed. “Practice session” was listed at quarter past eleven and didn’t end until one. He was nervous. What could he possibly be doing for three hours? It’s not like he knew how to do anything.

Dan joined Phil and Carrie at a table towards the back of the cafeteria. He suddenly felt the feeling of being the new kid in school. Everyone had their group of friends and their special table. For a while it was just the three of them at the table. Carrie and Phil chatted, while Dan just tried to people watch. He wished he could tell what everyone’s powers were. Maybe then he would be more social and not afraid that if he rubbed someone the wrong way, they could decimate him on the spot.

Two more people joined their table then. One was a tall ginger boy named Luke who could stretch way beyond human limits (which he demonstrated by ruffling Carrie’s hair from across the table without standing) and the other was a girl with a pixie cut named Emma. Dan liked Emma. She was literally compelling- when Dan asked what her power was, she told him she didn’t have any powers, and Dan believed her wholeheartedly. After they all started laughing, he made the connection that her power was what she called compulsion. Whatever she said, anyone would believe her.

Dan thought that was pretty sweet.

Breakfast did not last as long as he wanted it to. Carrie left with Emma and Luke the opposite way of Dan and Phil, who at a glance, seemed to have their practice together.

“It’s because we have similar powers,” Phil explained after Dan asked why, “They group people together like that. There will be other people in there that have natural based powers with us.”

 The gym was nearly full already when they walked in, and there was a half hour until the sessions started. “Do we practice all together?” Dan asked Phil.

 Phil shook his head. “No, we’re headed there,” he said, pointing across the room to an open white door. It seemed empty from there.

  “Is it fireproof?” Dan asked quietly as they passed a group of men in suits standing behind a balance beam.

  Phil was watching them, an oddly suspicious look on his face. “Yes,” he replied distantly, “Jenna had a lightning storm going on in there a few weeks ago.”

  Jenna. She could make electricity, which was technically a natural occurrence. As Dan and Phil entered the room, Dan hoped Jenna would show up. He liked her, and she was easy to be around.

 The room was a lot bigger than Dan expected it to be. There was a row of punching bags, and a wall of targets, and other things he didn’t recognize. There was also a mini track around the whole room, where a couple people were already jogging. “Should I be running?” he asked Phil.

The other boy shrugged. “If you want,” he said. “I usually just end up making it snow or something if my heart rate gets too high, so I just stand here and stretch.”

Dan raised his eyebrows. “I once set grass on fire during phys. ed.” he said, “I’m not a good runner.”

Phil grinned. “Looks like we have even more in common than I thought.”

Once the room had filled up, a baby-faced blond boy stood at the front of the room and shouted over the talking. “Shut it!”

Everyone stopped talking right away. The boy put his hands on his hips. “You all know the drill. Just do what I say and nobody’s brain will explode, yeah?”

Dan turned sharply to Phil. Phil smiled weakly. “Charlie can control pressure. So, he could make your brain explode if he wanted to.” he muttered. Dan took a breath.

“Now,” Charlie pulled his card out of his pocket, “Which one of you is Daniel?”

Dan’s heart leaped into his throat. “Me.” he said quietly, raising his hand.

Charlie beckoned him forward with a finger. “The rest of you, go about your business,” he said. The crowd dispersed throughout the room and Dan walked over, his heart beating nervously, heat rising from his fingertips up. “So, Daniel,” said Charlie, “Welcome to your first session.”

Dan blinked. “Thanks.”

“I know you must be confused, as no one’s explained what this is, so here it is.” Charlie grabbed Dan’s upper arm and steered him into a corner, away from the others. “These practice sessions are for you to play around with your powers safely. Everything is equipped to survive any sort of natural disaster you can think of,” he explained, “My job is to oversee everything, and to help if needed. I’ve been where you are. You’ll catch on, okay?”

Dan nodded. “So I can just go over and try to set one of those punching bags on fire?”

Charlie grinned. “That’s probably not the best idea. How about you just singe it first,” he said, “Come on. Try not to burn anyone.”

Dan decided he would try. He and Charlie walked over to the other end of the room and stood by a gray punching bag hanging from the ceiling. Dan studied it for a moment. Just singe it. He took a breath and flexed his hands before he pressed them to the nylon. When he brought them back, nothing was different.

“Concentrate,” Charlie commented, his arms crossed.

Dan nodded, his nervousness growing. He’s never been  _told_ to burn something before. He’s always done it on accident when he wasn’t thinking. Now he was thinking and he couldn’t do it. Charlie said concentrate. He didn’t even know what to concentrate  _on._

He tried a couple more times before Charlie shrugged. “It’ll come. Baby steps,” he said, “Keep trying.” He nodded once before walking away to talk to someone else, leaving Dan alone.

He pushed his curls off his forehead. He honestly had no idea what he was doing. Okay, he thought, whenever his heart rate got too high he ended up setting something on fire accidentally. So, maybe he could pretend to be angry, or make himself angry.

Dan closed his eyes. He thought of Alex breaking up with him suddenly. He thought of his brother breaking his Sonic disc in half. He thought of his parents turning him into the government. He opened his eyes. He didn’t feel any warmer and nothing had burst into flames.

This was ridiculous. “Come  _on.”_ he hissed, smacking it with the heel of his hand.

Phil appeared from behind his punching bag. His hands were stuffed in his pockets. “How’s going?” he asked.

“I’ve done nothing,” replied Dan moodily, “Charlie told me to try and burn the lining of this thing. And I haven’t even left a mark.”

Phil gripped the bag. “Maybe you’ve gone cold,” he teased.           

“Oh yeah, that’s rich,” Dan scoffed, rolling his eyes, “Wouldn’t that just be perfect?”

“You obviously need more work,” said Phil, watching Dan intently.

Dan narrowed his eyes. “Gee,  _thanks,_  Phil. I appreciate your support as I try to use my powers on purpose for the first time,” he said, some venom leaking into his voice.

Phil stepped away. “I’m helping.” he said.

“Are you kidding me?” Dan snapped, throwing his hands in the air. At that motion, the face of the bag that was facing him burst into flames. He started at the sudden influx of light and heat, flinching away. Phil’s eyes widened and he quickly moved back in. He pressed his hands to the opposite side of the bag, and soon the flames were out and the whole thing was coated in a thin layer of frost.

“I didn’t know that would happen,” said Phil sheepishly.

“Phil,” Dan accused, “You were having a go at me on purpose.”

“Of course I was. I would never be rude to someone for real. My abilities become more powerful when I get worked up, so I figured it would work for you too,” he said. He looked disapprovingly at the frozen punching bag. “I didn’t know it would set fire, though.”

“You put it out pretty well.”

Phil’s grin grew. “I didn’t know that would happen either.”

Dan reached over and touched the frost. As soon as his fingers came in contact with it, it started to melt, dripping from the heat. Dan raised his eyebrows. He wasn’t quite hot enough to damage the nylon, but it was enough to melt really thin ice. It was something. Dan dragged his hand down the layer of ice and watched excitedly as it dripped away. He did it  _of his own accord._

“Check it out, Phil,” he said happily, “I’m a freaking super hero.”

Phil laughed. “You’re too skinny to be a hero.”

Phil hung around Dan for the rest of the time as he tried to burn the nylon lining again and again just by touching it. Although Phil managed to freeze it over several more times, Dan could never make his skin hot enough to discolor it. He could melt Phil’s ice though, and that seemed to impress Charlie.

When the three hour session was over, Phil and Dan went to lunch. Emma and Luke joined them once more, but Carrie never showed, and no one seemed to think that was weird. In the afternoon Dan’s card said “class” in the library for an hour and a half. There a tall guy with a Jew fro explained to him that because he was new, Dan would spend time in the library learning about the history of The School, and of those like it all around the world, and how they’re related to him controlling his own abilities.

It all seemed quite boring at the beginning, and after fifteen minutes of reading a textbook sized history book, it proved to be such. When it was time to go, Dan had nodded off, and the only thing that woke him was Tall-Guy-In-Glasses slamming his book shut before him.

And then it was time to figure out how to get back to his room. He wished he was allowed to keep his phone… not that his parents would have continued to pay the bill anyway. But it still would have been easier than turning down four hallways that all looked the same with a huge history book under his arm. He didn’t come across many other people on his way, but when he neared the end of the corridor, he heard voice. There were at least two, and they were low and hurried.

“… asked him to set the fucking thing on fire. That is  _not_ subtle.” It was Jenna. And she did not sound so welcoming and nice like she was the day before.

“I didn’t ask him to set it on fire, Shutter,” said the other voice, a male, “I asked him to burn it. Simple and small.”

Dan pressed himself against the wall. They must have been talking about him, the male voice was Charlie. Unless there was another guy with fire powers who also knows Jenna. And why was Charlie calling her Shutter?

“You’re asking to be caught. You are supposed to be teaching them to control their powers, not use them,” Jenna snapped harshly.

Charlie sighed in frustration. “How can they control it if they don’t know what they’re capable of? This is all a waste of people we could use!” he growled, “We’ll have to reteach them.”

“And that’s a selling point for us,” said Jenna, calmer now, “Anyway; you should have told him to try and  _not_ burn the stupid thing. That’s what a real instructor would have done.”

“I’m telling you, he could be a serious asset to us. Especially if we start training him and Lester together. They have the whole opposite thing going on, and as far as I can tell, they really balance each other out.” Lester, opposite. That must be Phil, Dan thought.

“It was his first day!”

“Which is why it was so amazing! He just needs to know how to  _use_ the fire,” Charlie said excitedly, “Dan has some serious power-”

At the mention of his name, Dan’s stomach twisted, and he felt his fingers sinking into the cover of the book he was squeezing. Unnaturally. Without thinking, he stopped gripping the book so hard, which resulted in it slipping from his gasp. It almost fell in slow motion as Dan watched it fall to the floor. The sound echoed in the empty hallway. Jenna and Charlie’s voice cut off suddenly. Dan quickly bent to pick up the book, avoiding the burnt finger prints in the cover. When he straightened up, both Jenna and Charlie were standing before him.

“Sorry,” he said quickly, “I got lost trying to find the stairs.”

Jenna and Charlie exchanged a look. “I’ll show you,” said Jenna with a smile that looked genuine, but after eavesdropping, he knew that it wasn’t.

Dan nodded and smiled back. Charlie clapped Dan on the shoulder before heading down the corridor, rubbing his temple. Dan turned and followed Jenna the opposite way, trying not to ask the questions that were burning in his mind. The one that concerned him the most was why they were talking about him and Phil. 


	5. "What did you hear?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the DC heroes Hawk and Dove whom I loosely based my characters on.

Jenna left Dan at his door with a quiet goodbye and a little smile. He couldn’t say anything in reply due to his mind reeling over the conversation he just heard. It was all too confusing to work out. Dan heard Jenna say that Charlie was teaching them incorrectly, that he shouldn’t be helping them learn to use their powers. He should be teaching them how to  _not_ use them. Dan agreed with Charlie- what a waste. Besides, the whole reason Dan’s bitterness was edging away was because he was excited about getting better at containing the heat.

Dan turned the handle to his room. He pushed on the door with his shoulder. It was locked. He dug deep into his pockets and his wallet. He found no key. Great, Dan thought, I forgot my key inside. He sat on the floor and leaned his back against the cool door. Dan hoped Phil came back soon. He had an aching desire to tell his roommate what he overheard.

Footsteps echoed down the hall before someone else turned the corner into view. It was another boy; he looked around Dan’s age, whistling happily as he walked. He paused when he noticed Dan sitting on the floor.

“Locked out?” he said. Dan nodded solemnly. The boy looked over Dan’s head. “Ah, you must be Phil’s new roommate,” he said, “I’m PJ.”

“I’m Dan,” he sighed, giving a little wave.

PJ continued down the corridor and paused in front of the door with the number 520 on it. He pulled a silver key ring out of his pocket. “Lucky for you I live across the hall. Come on in.”

Dan got to his feet and followed PJ into the room. It looked just like his own place, but even shinier. Every wall was covered in some sort of machinery. On one wall was a huge flat screen television, the thing that Dan was most excited about. He didn’t know how much he missed TV until it was taken from him.

“Wow,” he muttered, looking around.

“Sorry, I know this looks a little strange to other people,” said PJ, sitting on the sofa stuffed underneath a smattering of monitors and circuit boards, “I’m a technopath. I make technology.”

Dan raised an eyebrow in confusion and took a seat in an armchair. “You made all this yourself?” he asked.

“Well, not  _literally._ I can’t just shoot memory cards out of my fingertips, although that would be quite helpful. I just know how to build things, make things work. I don’t even have to know what it is.” said PJ with a shrug.

“Wicked,” commented Dan.

PJ grinned. “It is pretty cool. I don’t even have to touch them. Here,” he said and got to his feet. He rummaged through one the cabinets for a moment before producing a wrench. He handed it to Dan. “Smash something.”

Dan stared at the tool. “What?”

“Smash something, go on.”

Dan looked around for a moment. He walked up to a monitor on the wall and held up the wrench. He cringed as he smashed it through the screen. He moved carefully away from the splintering glass.

“Now watch,” said PJ. He waved his hand in the direction of the smashed screen. Dan watched, his jaw dropping, as the tiny pieces of glass followed PJ’s palm and glided right into their places. The cracks repaired themselves. It was like watching it break in slow motion.

“You have the coolest power ever,” Dan said, turning to PJ.

He shrugged. “Thanks. Chris used to think it was annoying, but he likes having TV too much to complain anymore,” he said, “And Chris is my roommate, by the way.”

Dan nodded and placed the wrench on the counter. “So you’re allowed to have all this in here?” he asked.

PJ laughed. “This isn’t a university, Dan. We don’t have room checks. And besides, we’re adults; we can do whatever we want,” he said, “Except leave. But between you and me, we do that anyway.”

“We do?” Dan asked, surprised.

“Of course. We’re human, we’re going to get stir crazy. On weekends, a lot of the officials watching the security cameras go home, so we’ve never been caught.” said PJ with a grin.

Dan sat and thought about that for a moment. He hadn’t had time to think about the fact they he was practically locked up in here. It made sense that the students would have secret missions to get themselves out for some fun every once in a while. And the truth of the matter was, Dan thought, they had powers and the officials didn’t.

“You should come with us sometime. Phil usually comes too,” PJ added.

Dan nodded. “Yeah, okay. I’m sure it’s better than wasting away in here all weekend,” he said, although that’s probably what he would rather do. He’s never been one to go out, even in secondary school with his friends. One time he went to a party and drank a lot more than he should have, resulting in him trying to sleep in a bed that already had his friend’s parents in it. That didn’t go over well for anybody, and Dan was so mortified he never went to another house party.

“That’s the spirit,” said PJ as he fiddled with a circuit board by the bathroom door.

Dan looked out the still open door when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Phil was there, leaning against the doorframe. PJ hadn’t noticed yet. Dan raised his eyebrows, but Phil held a finger to his lips. Dan didn’t say anything as he crept into the room and stood behind PJ. Phil took a breath and blew on the back of PJ’s neck. The other boy erupted into a fit of shivers and spun around. Phil leaned his head back, laughing.

“Stop it!” PJ exclaimed and smacked Phil on the arm, “That’s like being thrown into a cold shower. Jesus Christ.”

Phil crossed his arms. “Couldn’t resist,” he said. He glanced over at Dan. “Are you corrupting my friend?”

“I wouldn’t call it  _corrupting,_ per say. More like informing him of our debauchery,” said the technopath as he fitted his circuits back to the wall.

“Uh huh,” Phil rolled his eyes and winked at Dan quickly. The latter’s eyes widened a bit.

“Besides, I’ve shown him all this,” PJ said, waving his arms around to gesture to his room, “So now he’s my friend too.”

Phil chuckled and walked over to hold his hand out to Dan. He took it and stood before he quickly let go. “I suppose it’s too late now,” sighed Phil.

“Ha ha, you git,” PJ mocked.

“Well, see you later, Peej,” said Phil. He turned to Dan and nodded out the door. Dan followed Phil into their room, which was already unlocked. Dan opened his bedroom door and through his book onto his bed. “So, how did you end up in PJ’s room?” asked Phil from the sofa.

“I was locked out and he happened to be passing by,” said Dan as he sat on the other end of the couch.

Phil nodded. “Sorry I was gone this afternoon. Usually I come back here right after lunch, but I had a meeting with, uh, Jenna,” he said with a grin, “You know Jenna, right?”

“Yeah, she’s my case manager, or whatever,” said Dan. He thought back to what he heard earlier again. It involved him and Phil- shouldn’t Phil know?

“She gets a lot of the natural powers. She was mine too,” he said, “We’re pretty good friends now.”

Dan nodded and played with a thread on his pants. He glanced up at Phil, who was looking at him intently, looking a little concerned. Dan and Phil haven’t known each other very long, but Dan felt like his roommate was easier to get along with than anyone else. He was sure Phil wouldn’t be upset if he told him he had eavesdropped on Jenna.

“So, I got lost trying to get out of the library,” Dan began.

“That used to happen to me all the time. That requited reading thing is extremely dumb,” said Phil.

“Right but, the thing is, when I was lost, I heard a conversation I probably wasn’t supposed to,” Dan said, looking down at his hands, “It was Jenna and Charlie.”

Phil’s expression changed. It became darker, but more interested. “What did you hear?”

Dan folded his hands nervously. “They were, uh, talking about me. Jenna was upset that Charlie told me to try and burn the punching bag this morning. She said that he wasn’t supposed to be teaching me to use my powers, even though that’s what I came here to do, right?” he said.

“Right,” Phil agreed distantly, turning his gaze to the floor, “Anything else?”

“Charlie said it was a waste to teach me not to use my powers, and that he would have to retrain me or something,” he continued, “And your name came up as well.”

Phil’s eyebrows shot up, and he asked the floor, “What did they say?”

“Charlie said something about training us together, because our powers-”

“Complement each other,” Phil finished.

“Yeah,” sighed Dan, “Do you have any idea what that means? I mean it kind of freaked me out… why would Jenna be upset that I might be able to do something with myself? She seemed to think my abilities were cool yesterday when we met.”

“She does think they’re cool, I promise,” said Phil, “but the Jenna you met was the one who has to be polite to keep her place around here. When Jenna isn’t working, she’s actually quite crass, but still a great girl.”

Dan nodded, although he wasn’t sure that changed his opinion on the entire encounter. “Oh, and Charlie called her ‘Shutter’.” he added.

Phil’s head snapped back up. “Did he really?” he wondered.

“Does that sound like something I would make up?” said Dan, rolling his eyes. Why was this getting so serious? Why was Phil acting so different since he brought this up? Was he really that surprised that Dan eavesdropped?

“Well, alright then,” said Phil, ruffling his hair absently, “That’s really strange, Dan. Maybe Jenna is just impressed by what you can do? She was impressed with me… then I proved not to be very good at the whole powers thing.”

“Maybe,” he replied.

Phil reached over and patted Dan on the knee, probably trying to be comforting, but he really just came off as awkward. At least he tried. “Don’t worry too much. The guys with higher-up jobs have a lot to deal with around here.” he said.

Dan nodded but decided to still worry about it. He couldn’t get the conversation out of his head. Phil said it was nothing, but it sure sounded serious, and he kind of hoped it was more exciting than it seemed to be.

The next day in practice, Charlie didn’t want to Dan to burn the punching bag anymore. He didn’t even tell him to focus on not burning it. In fact, Charlie told Dan to try and actually  _punch_ it.

“What?” said Dan once Charlie had walked away. He stared at the offending nylon sack before him, slowly squinting his eyes into a glare.

“You alright?” Phil asked.

“No! I’m to actually practice hitting this thing,” he exclaimed, “I thought this was a state of the art facility for freaky people with freaky powers and I’m supposed actually use it for what it was meant for?”

Phil held in his laughter. “I think that was the longest statement I’ve ever heard.”

“Oh, shut up,” Dan rolled his eyes, but grinned anyway, “And it was a question, you turnip.”

So Dan tried to actually punch the punching bag. And it was  _hard._ Phil laughed several times while he watched, especially when Dan came reeling backwards after his knuckles exploded in pain. This was the last thing he wanted to be doing. He didn’t have enough upper body strength for it to actually help his punching skill (or whatever this was meant to be doing) nor did he have thick enough skin to be punching nylon. Plus, this wasn’t helping him at all.

He had just broken skin on his right hand when he looked around, distracted, and noticed Jenna had appeared. She was standing with Charlie at the front of the room. She looked away deliberately when she and Dan made eye contact. He didn’t understand. She didn’t want him using his powers and she didn’t want him  _not_ using his powers. This school was getting more and more confusing by the day.

Phil noticed Dan rubbing his hand over his split knuckles. “You alright?” he asked again, sincerely.

“Yeah,” Dan replied, “It’s just this stupid thing. I don’t know how to throw a punch. What’s the point of practicing what I don’t know?”

“Let me see,” said Phil, holding out his own hand. Dan placed his in the other’s palm, watching in interest as again a tiny cloud of steam and a faint hissing noise issued from the contact. “It looks painful, but at least you aren’t bleeding.”

“I will be if I have to do any more of this,” said Dan.

“Here,” Phil muttered. He placed his other hand over the top of Dan’s, and Dan felt the odd sensation as if he’s dunked his hand in bucket of ice water. He’s never had the sensation of being cold before. He almost pulled away, especially when the scraped on his knuckles started to sting, but Phil let go first.

Dan’s hand wasn’t scraped up anymore. It was still red and irritated, but the skin was no longer split. Dan stared at it. “What the fuck did you do?” he asked Phil, more curious than anything.

“I have no idea,” Phil replied quickly, shaking his head, “I thought it would just take the pain away. I used to ice my brother’s scrapes and bumps all the time. I didn’t know I could… heal you.”

“Have you done it before?” Dan asked, holding up his hand and studying it from different angles.

“No. I’m just as baffled as you are,” Phil replied, stepping closer to look at Dan’s hand as well.

Suddenly Charlie’s words flooded back into his head. Dan and Phil were opposites when it came to powers. If they trained together, they could work off each other pretty well. “Maybe it has something to do with our powers,” Dan mused, “I’m hot to the touch, and you’re cold. Maybe we cancel each other out, in a way.”

Phil nodded thoughtfully. “I guess that could make sense.”

“I wonder if I could heal you…” Dan trailed off. He heard the familiar sound of clacking heels and looked just in time to see Jenna and Charlie approaching them.

Jenna folded her hands in front of her. “I’d like to ask you to meet us outside the library after your lunch,” she said, “I’d like to have a small meeting.”

“We just met yesterday,” said Phil, looking panicked at the idea.

“I know. I was talking to Dan,” said Jenna as she looked between the boys, “Please. I promise there won’t be another one like this.”

Dan and Phil nodded. Jenna turned and left, but Charlie lingered for a moment. “For the record, Dan, you suck at fighting,” he said before turning to follow Jenna. Dan made a face but couldn’t argue.

“Rude,” he muttered.

“Well, that was cryptic,” said Phil, rubbing his arm, “Are you going?”

Dan nodded right away. “Of course I am. After what I overheard yesterday, I hope this meeting is Jenna telling me that I don’t have to do these silly training sessions anymore. Or that I don’t have to read the history books anymore. Maybe  _she’s_ the one who’s going to teach me,” he said.

“Maybe,” said Phil, “but I doubt it. Jenna has all the offensive power she needs without fists.”


	6. "Flame Prince and Jack Frost"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the DC heroes Hawk and Dove whom I loosely based my characters on.

**“Flame Prince and Jack Frost”**

Dan and Phil had lunch with their usual crowd of friends that afternoon. Dan decided he could now consider Phil’s friends to be his own, since he really had no intention to talk to anyone else. He still stuck close to Phil, but he was becoming less awkward around the others. Carrie especially seemed to like to beat him out of his shell. She was very sweet, but she was firm, and she was good at making him feel comfortable. PJ never seemed to show up for mealtimes, but today his roommate Chris was there. His power was a lot like Zoe’s (whom Dan actually found himself missing) where he could mimic voices instead of appearances. He and Zoe would make a kickass team.

After their lunch hour, Dan said goodbye to Phil and made his way to the library for his meeting with Jenna. Phil didn’t seem to think that meeting Jenna out of his daily schedule was such a good idea. Dan was excited though. He got to skive off that stupid library study time and maybe do something productive.

And speaking of Zoe… arms wrapped around Dan’s neck suddenly outside the door to the library. “Dan! How’ve you been?” she said happily, right into his ear.

Dan chuckled and hugged her back briefly. “Hey, Zoe,” he said, “I’m good. How’ve you been?”

“Fantastic,” she replied and stepped away.

 “So, what are you doing here?” Dan asked her.

Zoe looked around. “Alfie asked me to come. Apparently there are a couple others too,” she said, “Something about a special meeting. I hoped I was getting exempt from this silly studying business.”

“Me too!” said Dan, nodding in agreement.

Dan and Zoe waited outside the library on their own while they waited for others to show up. There were only a couple others who showed up. Dan didn’t recognize any of them, but that wasn’t much of a surprise since, again, he didn’t want to socialize with anyone around him unless he absolutely had to.

Zoe was the first person to notice Jenna and Alfie, a broad shouldered guy with brown scruff, round the corner towards the small group. They were dressed differently than Dan expected. All the times that he had seen Jenna, she had been completely dolled up with heels and a dress. Now she was wearing tight workout pants and a t-shirt, and a ponytail. Alfie was wearing a pair of lounge pants and t-shirt as well. Dan exchanged a look with Zoe, who looked a little anxious. They were both wearing jumpers.

“This way, everyone,” Alfie said, nodding back the way they came from.

The group followed wordlessly. Alfie walked slightly ahead of Jenna, who turned to talk to the group of them. “Listen closely, guys. This meeting is completely unscheduled for all of us. We are technically not here right now. Alfie and I have picked you all because we think you’ll… understand,” she said, “And because your powers are particularly useful.”

“So we’re breaking the rules?” asked a short girl in the back of the group.

“Abso-fucking-lutely,” Jenna replied.

Zoe looked worried. “Won’t we get in trouble?” she asked.

“Don’t worry, Zoe,” said Alfie as he peeked around a corner, “They have to catch us first. Come on, it’s clear, cameras are off.”

They proceeded around the corner and down a poorly lit stairwell. Dan looked around and noticed that this was oddly close to where he had heard Charlie and Jenna talking. And cameras? He never noticed any cameras around. It freaked him out they might be built in, like the alarm that had gone off again that morning.

“Where are we going?” someone behind Dan asked.

“You’ll see!” Jenna replied.

At the bottom of the staircase they paused. There was a large white door there with old, black lettering that read “gymnasium”. The tiny window that sat below the word was boarded up. “This is the old gym,” Jenna explained, “This was used before The School started to have so many students. More than twenty years ago; people were either better at hiding or the government wasn’t so good at spying then.”

“What we’re about to show you is top secret,” Alfie continued, “Should any of you tell a soul outside of the people in this room, you will be sorry.”

“Or we’ll just have Concussion turn your brains to mush,” shrugged Jenna.

“That too,” he said, “Understood?”

Dan nodded along with the others. Concussion? They spoke about that as if it were a person. This was not what he expected from a meeting with Jenna. What was this, a secret club? Well, threatening to turn his brain to mush seemed a little over the top for just a secret club. Plus, it was obvious they had been sneaking around. They were breaking the rules. This had to be illegal.

Jenna pushed the door open and led them inside. At first it looked like nothing more than a workout room with a small track straight out of the seventies, but then he noticed that one of the walls was blown right through. The hole was covered from the outside by a blue tarp. There were others milling about the room, and most stopped what they were doing to see the group of newcomers.

“Welcome to The Cause,” Jenna said, gesturing to the room.

“The what?” Dan said sharply.

Jenna crossed her arms. “Dan, why were you brought here?” she said.

“Because my parents turned me in,” he replied, unsure of where this was going, and nervous about all the eyes that were turned on him. Jenna was his case manager, shouldn’t she know that? Geez.

“But  _why_ is that such a big deal?” Alfie added, a smile sliding onto his face.

“The government thinks we’re dangerous…?” Dan said slowly.

“There hasn’t been a fatal incident here for almost twenty years,” said Jenna with a glance at the large hole in the wall, “They don’t think we’re dangerous. They think we’re  _different._ They think we’re a threat to the peaceful world they’re trying to create.”

Dan raised an eyebrow, and he wasn’t the only one confused. “Why would they think that?” Zoe asked.

“That’s what we’re confused about, love,” said Alfie gently, “It’s not just in Britain. It’s everywhere. Jenna got sent here from America, she knows.” The blond nodded, her face expressionless. He continued. “There are facilities all over the world like this one where people with special abilities are taken and kept until they’re so brainwashed they can barely use their powers anymore. They make people like us into  _normal people_.”

“Why?” asked another of the group.

“Like I said,” muttered Jenna, “We’re a threat.”

“Our purpose is to train you how to use your powers,” Alfie continued, “While the government teaches you how to be good little citizens and forget about your abilities. We’re special; here, you’ll learn in secret how to fight with and without your powers… should you ever need to use them offensively.”

“Which we predict you will,” Jenna added, “We teach you how to control your powers and how to use them.”

It all made sense now. Dan came upon Jenna and Charlie arguing about Dan being taught to use his powers to full potential during scheduled time. That’s why he was “asking to be caught”. The School was not teaching them the right thing, Dan thought. Dr. Hurley was wrong. She said they were all the same and that they could learn to be the same over time. She was feeding off kids’ fears to fit in to her advantage to make the lives of people like her easier. To push those who are different down and confine them into one place.

Dan didn’t understand why the whole of the student body wasn’t part of The Cause. This sounded like a good deal. He wanted to know how to stop burning things. He didn’t know that he wanted to learn how to fight, but now he knew that he did.

“But wait,” Zoe piped up, her hands on her hips, “Why do we need to know how to fight?”

Jenna and Alfie exchanged a look. “We’ll tell you later,” said Alfie quietly.

Before anyone else could ask another question, Jenna clapped her hands. “Okay, newbies. You should probably know your  _compadres_  that are hanging around here, we’ll start with…” she turned and looked to her left, “Cuss! Siren!”

A muscled boy leaning against the wall raised his eyebrows in recognition. “Yeah?” he said. A girl with big curly hair was sitting on the floor beside him, and Dan recognized her right away. It was Carrie.

Jenna waved them over and showed them to the group. “Guys, this is Siren, who could make you all deaf if she tried,” she said, gesturing to Carrie. Her eyes fell on Dan and she winked quickly, “And this is Concussion, who we were telling you about. He could turn you all into blubbering babies in five seconds.”

The boy rolled his eyes. “I’m Marcus,” he said with a wide smile, “I’m telepathic.”

“So he could melt all your brains if he wanted to!” said Alfie excitedly while Marcus rolled his eyes.

“Why did she call you Concussion?” Zoe asked.

“We all have nicknames here so we can talk about and to each other in the open without giving anything away,” Marcus explained, “I’m  called Concussion, because my  powers have to do with messing with people’s heads. Carrie is Siren because she uses her voice offensively. Alfie has superhuman strength-”

“So I call him Dumbbell,” Jenna interrupted.

Alfie shoved her shoulder, and Dan was surprised she didn’t go flying across the room after learning that information. “It’s Stronghold,” he told them. Carrie quickly swept in and hugged Dan around the middle before following Marcus and Alfie elsewhere.

“What’s your nickname?” Dan asked Jenna before she started to lead them across the room.

Suddenly the blue tarp moved and a curly head appeared. “Shutter,” he said before he noticed the others, “Oh, hey Dan.”

Dan blinked. “Hey, Peej,” he replied.

PJ winked briefly before turning back to Jenna. “I think I’ve fixed it. You’ve got to come see,” he said before ducking back under the tarp.

“Mingle,” she told the group of them before following PJ. Dan turned to Zoe, who was rubbing her arms anxiously.

“Are you alright?” he asked her quietly.

She nodded. “I’m a little overwhelmed. I don’t like that we’re here in secret, we’re being totally illegal. What if we get caught?”

Dan shook his head and looked around. Everyone else had gone back to what they were doing. Some were lifting weights, others were running on treadmills, and in the very center of the room there was an empty sparing circle. This looked quite relaxed for a training session. “This has obviously been going on for a while if they have an  _extremely,_ ” he rolled his eyes, “creative name and an entire group of people. Don’t you want to learn to use your powers?”

“I already do,” Zoe said, “I can change my appearance whenever I want without any problems. The only reason I wanted to come here is because I thought I was a burden on my family, dangerous. Now they’re telling me I gave up my life for nothing?”

“That’s what this is about, Zoe,” said Dan, suddenly feeling a surge of excitement about the whole thing. He liked this rebel idea. He gently took her shoulders. “It’s not for nothing. We’re different, and that’s good, and we shouldn’t have to hide away. And we get sick nicknames… like we’re super heroes or something.”

Zoe nodded and looked away from him. “I’m going to go talk to Alfie,” she said quietly. She stepped out of Dan’s loose grip and walked past him.

Dan sighed. Now where was he going to go? Zoe was the only friend here he had, and he didn’t want to go talk to Carrie with Marcus or Alfie around, because both of those guys could probably pick him up and throw him across the room regardless of powers. His eyes fell on the blue tarp where he saw PJ summon Jenna. Curiosity won out and he stepped over the crumbling remains of the wall and slipped under the blue tarp. What he saw made him stop dead in his tracks.

It was a poolroom. Or, it had been once. The pool was completely drained of water and cracking, and inside the pool was an old school bus. The front of it was propped up enough so that someone could fit under the wheels, and the hood was open, where he could see the lower half of PJ sticking out, his feet on the cement that said  _18 feet deep._  Jenna was sitting beside his feet.

But that wasn’t even the weird part. Chris Kendall, PJ’s roommate, was sitting in the driver’s seat with his feet on the wheel and Phil Lester, Dan’s own roommate, was sitting on the floor of the bus next to him.

The older boy lit up when he spotted Dan. “Hey!” he said, excitedly waving, “I hoped they would pick you!”

Dan stood there, blinking, and waved back halfheartedly. The sight of a school bus sitting in a drained pool with Phil sitting inside it was freaking him out a bit. “What is this?” he asked, his voice echoing around the mostly empty room.

“A bus, duh,” said Chris, looking up from the tablet he had on his lap. Dan wasn’t aware they were allowed to have those kinds of things. Then again, he was at a secret meeting of a rebel club.

“A project,” PJ amended as he pushed himself out of the hood, “I’ve been trying to fix it for a long time. And I think I’ve got it.” He wiped his greasy hands off on his jeans, leaving black streaks on his thighs. “Start her up, Chris!”

Chris took his feet off the steering wheel and dragged his finger across the screen of the tablet. The engine of the bus turned over a couple times before it caught, revving to life. PJ pumped his fists excitedly. Dan covered his ears; the engine sounded nothing like a bus, and more like a racecar. He could see Phil still sitting on the floor, holding his hands in the air and saying “whoooo”.

PJ waved one hand and Chris turned it off. Dan uncovered his ears. “Well, it sounds like it works,” said Jenna as she got to her feet, “Now we’ve got to figure out how to pull it out of here.”

“I can get Louis on that,” PJ nodded, although didn’t seem too enthusiastic.

Jenna nodded and squeezed his shoulder. “Great. Oh, explain all this to Flame Prince here,” she said as she walked by Dan. He glowered at her. “He looks like a lost puppy.”

“I am  _not_ a puppy, Jenna,” he snapped.

She grinned. “That’s Shutter Shock to you,” she said and touched Dan on the shoulder. He shrunk away when her tiny bolt of electricity jolted his skin.

Dan rubbed his shoulder and watched PJ as he approached. A soft, mechanical whirring noise echoed throughout the room as the bus was lowered back onto its front wheels. “Now, you must be curious,” PJ began as Dan watched Phil and Chris dare each other to jump out of the bus door, “There is a whole graveyard of old vehicles outside this building. I decided to fix this one up. It’s a bit outside my power base, but I’m still a technical genius, so I figured it out quickly enough.” He stared at the bus with a proud smile, and Dan let him bask in the glory for a few moments before clearing his throat awkwardly. “You haven’t been outside since you got here, have you?” the other boy added.

Dan shook his head. He hardly went outside anyway, so he hadn’t thought to think that that would be strange.

“Well, this place looks a lot like a prison from the outside. In the back of the building, there are tons of broken down busses, motorcycles, and old cars. This was the only one we could salvage that could fit everyone in it,” PJ continued, “Should we ever need transportation.”

“You certainly think ahead,” Dan commented.

“Too far ahead, in my opinion!” Chris offered as he climbed the ladder out of the pool, “What are we? A bunch of teenagers-”

“Not a teenager!” Phil shouted from the bottom.

Chris rolled his eyes and sat on the cement. “Alright, a bunch of  _young adults_ meet secretly in an old gym to teach each other how to fight, rebuild a bus at the bottom of the pool, and call ourselves revolutionaries. I think it’s dumb.”

“Yet, you’re still here,” PJ said, crossing his arms.

Phil’s black hair appeared over the side of the pool. “And we’re not learning to fight. We’re learning control,” he said.

“ _You’re_  learning control, Jack Frost,” Chris said. Phil narrowed his eyes. “I’ve already got my powers under control, thank you very much. PJ thinks I’m his mother all the time.” The technopath rolled his eyes. “I’m only here for the free food and to question authority. Oh, and to watch Phil try to lift weights.” Chris concluded.

Dan turned to his roommate as the boy got to his feet. “You lift weights?” he asked.

“Is it working?” asked Phil, flexing his bicep with a joking grin.

“Maybe your nicknames should be Flame Prince and Jack Frost,” PJ laughed.

“ _No,_ ” said Dan and Phil together.

Then he wondered what his nickname really would be. Then he wondered why Phil didn’t already have one. He inquired while the four of them exited the pool room, and all Phil said was that no one had come up with one that he liked and that everyone could agree on.

PJ was working with the tablet that Chris had been holding, explaining to Dan that it was his control panel for all the things he’d been doing to the bus. He can turn it on and off, flash the lights, open the doors, lock everything down, and even self-destruct. He didn’t know why he included that feature, he said, but he just wanted to include a big red button that said SELF-DESTRUCT on it for fun.

Once the four of them had ducked under the tarp back into the gym, Jenna appeared. “Get legs, you two, you’re coming with me,” she said to Dan and Phil.

“Where?” Phil asked carefully, looking startled.

Jenna nodded for them to follow her. “The bomb shelter,” she said simply.

Dan and Phil exchanged a look. “ _Why?_ ” scoffed Dan.

“It hasn’t been used since this place was built in the late thirties, but it’s perfect. It’s just over there,” she said, pointing to a door near the far curve of the track, “Nothing in that room will catch fire nor be harmed by being iced over. We’re gonna see what you two can do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just quickly want to thank all my readers and commenters so far. Whether you're here because you found me on tumblr or if you stumbled upon the story by accident, I love you! Also, I need some help. I have no idea what Zoe's nickname should be, so I want you guys to come up with it. If anyone has an idea, just comment what you think her name should be and why. I'll pick the best one!


	7. "We have a mole."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the DC heroes Hawk and Dove, whom I loosely based my characters on.

"Come on, let me try it," said Dan, holding out his hands.

Carrie clutched her mug tighter, shaking her head. "I don't trust you, Daniel," she said quietly.

"Do you want hot tea or not?" Dan said, gesturing for her to give him the mug.

Carrie, who had been complaining about her lukewarm cup of tea, handed it over with a frown. Dan cupped the mug in his hands and concentrated on the liquid. He imagined the heat he constantly felt under his skin moving and pooling in his hands. He concentrated on the coldness of Carrie's tea. Then, his grin grew as the tea started to steam and even bubble in his hands.

"Ha!" he looked up at his friend, "I told you I could do it!"

"Well, don't burn it!" said Carrie, though she was also smiling.

Phil squeezed his arm. "Way to go, Dan, that's a real improvement."

"Yeah," said Chris from across the lunch table, "He's been here for two weeks and he's better than you are after nine months."

Phil shrugged. "I wish I could argue," he said.

"Phil's been getting better too," Dan jumped in, "Just yesterday he iced over an entire wall on purpose. And it wasn't just frost, the thing was  _frozen_."

He blushed. "Well, Dan melted it right away," he added.

"And then we were stuck with a huge puddle of water, but you know, it was still cool."

Chris held in a laugh as he bit into his muffin. The rest of the table caught onto the pun, trying to hold in their laughter as well, and Dan rubbed his temple in annoyance. "Shut up, all of you," he muttered, "I'm excited, alright?"

Dan's excitement had been growing and growing since he started working with The Cause. Ever since that first evening with Jenna in the bomb shelter room -which is basically a square room made of cinderblocks and steel rods- Dan's control and even the use of his powers have been improving quite a bit. Phil has also been getting so much better in the same amount of time. It didn't take long for Jenna to figure out that Dan and Phil were right- their powers complement each other so well that even being in the same room makes it easier for the both of them.

Phil keeps Dan from overheating. Dan keeps Phil from frosting over. It's a good system. Jenna and Alfie are thrilled. They're glad they have powers like Dan and Phil's on their side, and they're glad they got to them before Dr. Hurley brainwashed them. At least that's what Carrie says, who doesn't have a problem expressing her opinions about The School's administration.

"Can you make your own corporeal flame yet? Like hold one in your hand?" Zoe asked from her place at Dan's elbow.

He shook his head. "I don't know if I'll ever be able to," he replied, "Shutter Shock says that I might not be capable." He still felt so strange using Cause nicknames outside of the old gym. He knew that was their purpose, and he was catching on, but he felt so strange.

"Well, she can do it," said Carrie, "Her powers are similar to yours and Phil's, just with electricity. She can produce a visible bolt of lightning if she wants to."

Luke Cutforth plopped into the seat next to Chris then, with Emma on his heels. "What's this about lightning?" he asked.

This is the part when Dan starts to sweat a little. People overhear them talking about The Cause all the time, and everyone except for he and Phil (shocker) seem to be able to cover it up well. He always worries that one of these days he'll be interrogated and blow the whole thing.

"A character in a book I'm reading," Carrie lied smoothly. She took a delicate sip of her tea. "It's quite interesting. Oh, the musings of the civilians on their freaky brethren," she said airily. Dan had never read a novel with about people like him. It never occurred to him that they would even exist.

It was also strange to him that they were friends with those who weren't members.

"So, what has Charlie been having you guys do in your sessions?" Chris asked nonchalantly.

"Heartrate control," said Phil, "We've been doing a lot of physical activity, and then lying on the ground afterwards."

"The lying down part is my favorite," said Dan while he ripped a piece of toast in half.

"You two have been doing physical activity?" Emma laughed, raising her eyebrow.

Dan looked indignant while Phil laughed as well. "Don't sound so surprised. Charlie's been making us run and lift things to get our heartrates up. Then we have to sit and focus on bringing them down without harming anything in the process," he explained. Dan was thankful for Charlie's subtle help in his real training. Jenna's been threatening to make them both work out, and being horrifically out of shape at the moment, he's glad Charlie has been taking it slow and building up their stamina. It's also pretty nice to just be able to sit on the floor with Phil for twenty-minute intervals.

"Suits and ties ahead," said Chris as he lifted his feet off the table. It didn't take long for Dan to figure out that men and women in suits were government officials, and they were not friends. They hovered around every couple days, watching training sessions and classes and occasionally bringing in students to make sure they were "adjusting well" to life at the School. According to The Cause, it was just a subtle way to make sure everyone was conforming.

Dan didn't have to look over his shoulder to know that the men were coming towards them. Carrie and Chris seemed to be making steady eye contact, and even Luke and Emma seemed curious. The footsteps on the linoleum got louder until they halted right behind Dan. He gulped and waited for them to tell him he was being arrested, that they  _knew-_

"Mr. Lester," said a male voice, "Will you come with us, please? Dr. Hurley would like to speak with you."

Phil turned first and Dan followed suit. Both boys exchanged a look and Phil nodded. "Okay," he said and got to his feet. Dan looked over at Zoe and gave her a questioning look, but she just shook her head. She didn't know either. This didn't add up. Phil has been here for months, and now Dr. Hurley wanted to see him. Wasn't a bit too late to be wondering how he was adjusting?

Once Phil had left with the two men, Dan turned back to the table. "Have any of you had a meeting with Dr. Hurley yet?" he asked.

They all shook their heads. "Both of my neighbors have gone though," Emma mused, "They both said Dr. Hurley asked them how they were liking it here. Were they learning, enjoying themselves, eating enough? Things like that."

"Seems innocent enough," added Carrie.

Dan could tell she was trying very hard not to express her opinion on the matter. It was strange that Phil was asked to go after he's been attending the school for months, and that Dr. Hurley was meeting with people herself. She was supposedly a high politician with real life responsibilities. What was she doing meeting with a bunch of kids every day?

Zoe squeezed Dan's arm. "Come on, time to go," she said, getting up.

Hours later Dan was lying on the ground, breathing hard. He had been running around the training room for he didn't know how long, alone, while the rest of the students complained about hot it was getting in there because of it. It was just because Phil wasn't there. They never had problems like that when they were together.

When the light over him was blacked out, Dan opened one eye to spot Charlie standing over him, hands on his hips. "Hey," he said, "How are you doing?"

Dan lifted his hand for Charlie to touch. This was usually how Charlie checked his and Phil's pulses as well as the temperature of their skin. He put his hand to Dan's wrist but snapped back almost immediately. Dan closed his eyes again.

"You're burning hot, Dan."

"It's because Phil isn't here," he panted in response. Plus, Dan was sick with worry over him.

"Where is he, anyway?" asked Charlie.

"I haven't seen him since this morning. The suit and ties took him in for a meeting with Dr. Hurley."

Charlie scrubbed a hand through his hair and sighed. "You can stay there for the rest of the session, if you want," he said, "There's no use training the two of you separately. Plus, you made it bloody hot in here, mate."

Dan dropped his arm over his eyes and took deep breaths. He wasn't used to running this much, but even though he was out of breath, he didn't have any aching muscles.

After training Dan went back to his room. When he walked in, Phil was there, laying on the sofa and staring at the ceiling. "Hey, where have you been all day?"

"Seeing Dr. Hurley," he replied.

"For hours?" Dan said, pulling off his still sweaty shirt, "You missed the lot of training, and your reading class-"

"I know," Phil interrupted and Dan paused. "I didn't feel like going. I... don't feel very well," he continued, finally glancing away from the ceiling.

Dan grabbed another t-shirt while he thought. Phil was fine this morning, and now he didn't feel good. He's been here for months, yet Dr. Hurley wanted to meet with him. And he came back not feeling well. This just felt more and more suspicious with every new detail.

Dan leaned against the counter and watched Phil for a moment. "What did you talk about in the meeting?"

Phil shrugged. "Normal stuff, I guess," he said, "How is my training, am I improving, am I taking care of myself. It was kind of like a check up."

"This doesn't sound normal, Phil."

The other boy took another breath and sat up. He sat there for a few moments and both of them were silent. Dan was about to ask something else when Phil piped up again. "She asked about the resistance."

Dan's eyes widened considerably. "Wha-at? Is that what's got you so worked up?" he asked. Phil nodded. "Well, what did you say?"

"I tried not to say anything. Told her I didn't know what she was talking about, but she kept asking really specific questions. She asked how I knew how to get to the basement, why were parts going missing from the scrap yard, and stuff like that," Phil replied, pulling his legs to his chest.

Dan walked over and sat in the space the legs had vacated. "How does she know all this?" he asked slowly.

Phil shook his head. "I don't know. But then again, I'm not so sure she  _really_ knows anything. She asked me questions about the resistance, but it was all... coincidental, you know?" he said.

The younger one nodded. "You're right. You're naturally curious; you could have just stumbled upon the old gym. And parts could be going missing from those junk cars for a number of reasons," he said.

Smiling a little, Phil nodded. "Those statements are very similar to what I told Dr. Hurley," he muttered.

Dan smiled too. "I guess we're rubbing off on each other."

The next evening when Dan and Phil went to the resistance meeting, they shared Phil's encounter with the headmistress. The entire group was silent as Jenna and Alfie exchanged a couple glances. "We have a mole," said Alfie after the silence.

"A mole?" asked Zoe in confusion.

"Someone feeding the administration our information," PJ contributed. Dan looked around, and everyone else seemed to have the same idea. He felt like he knew all these people personally, and he was even friends with a handful of them. Who would be horrible enough to sell them all out?

Jenna cleared her throat. "Here's what we're going to do," she said, "I'll give you all some time to think, especially whoever is leaking information. If the culprit doesn't come forward, I'll have Concussion go through all of your minds. Then we'll know for sure."

Dan looked over at Marcus, who was leaning against the wall with a couple others with a frown on his face. "I really need a better name," he said.

After that the meeting went as usual. Dan spent all his time with Phil and Jenna, doing the same exercises he did the previous session. Now that he could do them by heart, his mind was in different place, thinking about whom out of this group could be the mole. And at this point, it could be anyone, meaning he really didn't know who was trustworthy anymore.


	8. "Someone is lying."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the DC heroes of Hawk and Dove, whom I loosely based my main characters on.

While Phil was in reading class, Dan found himself lounging on the sofa in PJ and Chris's room. PJ tapped away on a laptop while Dan and Chris played Halo 3 on one of the TV screens. When PJ made yet another noise of frustration, his roommate paused the game.

"All right, Peej, what are you doing?" he asked.

PJ didn't look up. "Trying to figure out how Dr. Hurley knows anything about us," he replied.

"You know how. Someone is ratting us out," said Chris.

With another annoyed grunt, PJ shut his computer. "We can't just take that. Everyone in that group is there for the same reason, and we know every single one. It just doesn't make sense!"

"People are complex creatures," said Dan, putting his arms behind his head, "It doesn't have to make sense."

Chris scoffed. "Especially considering we're all a bunch of mutants locked up on a hill in Britain," he said.

PJ just frowned while Dan gave him a look. "You make us sound like the X-Men."

"And that would  _much cooler_ then what we've got going on around here."

Dan turned to PJ again. "What are you investigating, then?" he wondered.

Once again the technopath opened his laptop. "Security footage, computer mainframes, anything really," he said, "But what I've found is not promising."

Chris got up to look over his roommate's shoulder. "Why?"

"All the cameras in and around the areas of our basement are always on the fritz, I make sure of it so it's never suspicious. As for hacking into the computer system... it's impossible," he continued, irritated.

Dan sat up a bit, looking confused. He had never heard PJ use the word impossible before. He was hardly twenty and he made a school bus work like a small jet plane. "How is it impossible? You're a genius," he said.

PJ sighed and shook his head. "I'm not a genius, I'm a technopath. Technology comes naturally; I know how to build the hardware. I've caught onto software, such as the programming like in the bus, because that usually comes with the job. But these firewalls are... impenetrable," he said, scrubbing a hand through his curly hair, "Someone up there knows how to do this better than I do."

"Well, they are the federal government. I would think they have the best," said Dan.

PJ waved a hand. "I hacked into MI5 like a year ago," he said breezily.

"What?" Dan gasped, "Why, how?"

"Emma told me I couldn't."

Dan looked up at Chris, who nodded to affirm it was true. If PJ hacked into a secret intelligence agency, surely a firewall on the systems around this little place would be a piece of cake. Dan wasn't about to question it, considering he knew nothing about hardware or software or really any differences between the two, but it still seemed... odd.

"So, why can't you break through it?" asked Chris.

Growling in annoyance, PJ put both his hands in his hair. "I don't know," he muttered.

Dan drummed his fingers on his knees. There was a knock on the door then, and Chris went to answer it, only cracking the door a bit to see whom it was. "Just me!" chirped the voice, and Dan recognized Phil right away.

They let him in, and he sat down beside Dan. He asked what was going on, and with great contempt and lots of sighs, PJ filled him in. And Phil just looked confused. "Didn't you hack MI5?" he asked.

"Yes!" PJ exclaimed in exasperation.

"So the moral of the story is that PJ is  _not_ a genius and the administration around here has a genius," Dan said.

PJ hummed in thought. "I'm thinking something more than just your everyday, high IQ, graduated-university-at-fourteen-genius. Maybe something like artificial intelligence," he said.

"Maybe it's just one of us," Phil said absently.

PJ opened his mouth, but then shut it again, his eyes widening. "What did you say?" he asked slowly.

Phil's cheeks turned pink. "Maybe it's just one of us. Like being a super genius is their power and they made the firewall impenetrable," he said.

"But none of the administration has powers. They all work for the government," Chris interjected, shaking his head.

"But wait," PJ interjected and the typing on his computer quickened, "If it is an AI protecting the system, its signal would be traceable. Its whole point would be omnipotent presence, and because of that it would be wirelessly connected." The three others waited with baited breath while PJ worked on trying to find a signal of artificial intelligence. They didn't know how long it had been before PJ piped up again. "No signal to trace," he said.

"So Phil's right," Dan said, "One of our own is working for the administration."

"It can't be of their own accord," Phil quipped.

"But we need to know," PJ added, "If I can find a way to get through the firewall, I can get into the files to see how Dr. Hurley is getting information on us. And it needs to be soon before Marcus goes through all our heads for no reason."

Chris sighed. "I still think this is pointless. I think we should just let Marcus do it and stop the mole," he said.

Phil shook his head. "I don't think we have a mole. I trust every single person in the resistance too much to believe that," he said.

"And I believe Phil. We should tell someone about this firewall situation," said Dan.

PJ closed his laptop with a loud snap and stood up so quickly Chris jumped into the wall to avoid a shoulder the face. "Let's go find Jenna. I think I know where she is," the technopath suggested.

Dan and Phil exchanged one glance and then got up to follow him out. Chris lingered for a moment, frowning. "Hey, what about our game?" he protested. Then he huffed and followed the other three from the room, closing and locking the door behind him.

After following the others up too many flights of stairs, Dan found himself sitting in a wooden chair in the corner of Jenna's office. It wasn't really just Jenna's office, but she shared with the other case managers, but at that moment she was the only one in there. Considering there were so many desks, Dan was surprised she had managed that.

"So you think that this isn't artificial intelligence?" Jenna said while she looked at PJ's computer screen.

"No. There's no wireless signal to trace, so there has to be a person behind a computer who wrote this code," he replied.

Jenna drummed her long nails on her desk. "Can you track the computer it was written on?" she asked after a bit of silence.

PJ grimaced and shook his head. "Not without getting through the firewall. And if I could do that this entire operation here would be moot."

"So what's the point of this?" said Jenna.

He continued. "The code is much to complicated for any sort of normal person to have written, which is the reason I can't hack it in the first place. So we had the thought-"

"It was Phil's idea," Dan piped up quickly.

"Yes, Phil thought of it first," PJ said with a nod, "We think that there's someone with a gift working with Dr. Hurley to protect her system files. For some reason she wants them exceptionally well protected, and we doubt this gifted person is doing it out of the goodness of their heart."

Jenna nodded slowly. "Sounds suspicious. And you want to hack Dr. Hurley's system why?" she asked.

"Because we don't think that one of our own is betraying information, and I want to try and prove it. At the same time, we could also find out who it is should it be true," Phil added from his spot beside Dan.

"For the record, the 'we' does not include me because I-" Chris was interrupted by Phil.

"Have no faith in humanity?"

"Precisely."

Jenna sighed and rubbed her temple. "Do what you have to do. And I will do my best to see if I can get into Dr. Hurley's office and look through her computer," she said, "You boys are brilliant."

They all exchanged slightly smug looks. It was odd, Dan thought, he would have never figured out any of this on his own. Without the others, his life would be horrifically monotonous and unproductive. In fact he would probably be actively hating life and losing all hope. But this; this was exciting.

As the boy's left Jenna's office, they were quiet. They were halfway down the stairs again when PJ spoke up. "I think this breakthrough calls for a celebration," he declared.

Chris fist pumped. "Ooh, I've been waiting for this," he said.

"What?" said Dan, confused.

"They want to go out," Phil told him, a few paces behind.

Dan still looked confused while Chris spoke. "I know you were told about it. Once it gets dark and all the administrators are gone, PJ turns off the cameras, we hotwire a car from the graveyard and drive into the city," he explained.

"Wait, you actually do this? I thought you were taking the piss!" Dan said.

"No, we do it," Phil said, "Haven't been caught once."

"And it's super fun. Come with us, it'll be way more fun than sitting around in this hell of a place," PJ implored.

And that's how Dan ended up in the junkyard behind the facility, braving the wind, while PJ lay on his back under a car. Chris bounced around, complaining about the cold and telling PJ to  _hurry the fuck up_  while Dan and Phil just waited.

Phil shifted a little closer, which the other was hyperaware of. "Do you feel cold?" he whispered.

Dan shook his head. "Not at all. The wind is just annoying because it's really messing up my hair."

He laughed lightly. "I understand that. I hope this car's mirrors are still intact, because I'm going to need a fringe check," he muttered.

Dan smiled a little, trying to hide his face in the collar of his jacket. Even though he didn't feel cold, his skin could still get windburn and he didn't want to chance it. "Do you feel cold?" he asked Phil.

Phil just gave him a look. "I always feel cold," he replied.

"You're right, dumb question," he responded. God, he was such an idiot.

Suddenly the car's engine caught and started to run smoothly. Chris threw his hands in the hair. "Finally!" he cheered and climbed in the front seat.

"You did not call shotgun, cheater!" Phil protested.

PJ climbed out from under the car and brushed his hands together. "Just sit in the back with Hothead. Don't pretend you weren't going to do that anyway," he said and climbed into the driver's seat.

Dan chanced a look over at Phil after that statement, and all he caught before getting into the dark car was a small smile from the older boy. "Don't call me that," Dan muttered after climbing into the backseat.

The School turned out to be much farther from the city than Dan expected. It felt like they were in the car playing guessing games and I Spy for hours before they even saw a sign for London. That made Dan nervous, considering he had been knocked out before he was taken there from home. How long had he really been out?

When PJ parked on the street and managed to turn the car off, Chris cleared his throat. "You didn't know how to drive stick before today, did you?" he said.

"Nope," the technopath replied.

"That makes me feel safe," he replied with a sigh, "Alright, gents, lets go get drunk!"

The closest pub was called The Blind Tiger and it was full of mostly middle-aged men watching a football game. They were cheering and laughing and just having a good time, and it was all so  _normal_. Dan had almost forgotten that normal life went on while he trained to control his strange mutation. An entire world existed outside his little messed up one, and that gave him a weird sense of satisfaction.

"I can't believe you guys do this without getting caught," he said while following others to the bar.

"It pays off to have a technical genius as a friend," Phil said.

"I'm not a genius-" PJ started.

Chris interrupted. "Yeah yeah, it's in your code or whatnot. Oi!" he waved at the bartender, "Four shots here please!"

"Make it three," Phil amended, "A vodka cranberry for me, please."

Chris turned to give him a look. "Are you a sissy?" he said seriously.

The taller boy glared. "That implies that being a girl is weak and I don't appreciate that. Also, I'm a lightweight and someone has to drive us back," he said.

The bartender placed three shot glasses of clear liquid before them, and then handed Phil his own drink. Dan plucked one up and gave it a sniff. It smelled very similar to cleaning liquid. "I'm supposed to drink this?" he asked.

"You've never had a shot before, have you?" PJ said. Dan shook his head. "Well, on the count of three we'll knock 'em back, alright?"

Phil just chuckled and sipped his drink while the other three got ready. Dan didn't really know what to expect, other than a disgusting taste. Chris counted to three and then at the same time they all took a shot. Dan nearly choked; that feeling was not was he was expecting. And it sure was awful.

As he coughed, Chris laughed and clapped him on the back. "Not the kind of burn you're used to, huh?" he said.

"No," Dan said in a choked voice, "People do that for  _fun_?"

PJ shrugged. "You don't find that fun?" he asked playfully.

"Horrific, more like," Dan said.

Chris waved his hand again. "Another round!"

And another round they had. And another. And another. While Phil finished off his one drink, the other three kept ordering more and more. Eventually they were all happily buzzed, which was a feeling Dan was not used to but he wasn't about to complain about it.

"This was a great idea," he sighed, putting his head down on the counter.

"I know," Chris said while he tried to spin a shot glass on his left pointer finger. Phil reached over and took it before it could be smashed everywhere.

"We deserved this. I deserve this," Dan continued, "After getting my ass kicked in scheduled training every day and then  _again_ at resistance meetings-"

Phil cleared his throat. "You do fine."

"-this is great. A great time. You guys are great," he finished.

PJ and Chris started to laugh a little too hard, and then the screens all flashed. The pub was filled with annoyed complaints at the game changing to an anchorwoman from a national news station. The foursome watched the closest screen over their heads, distracted from their drunkenness. "We interrupt your scheduled programming for a special announcement from Prime Minister Page regarding the mutant hunt," she said.

As Dan picked his head up off the bar, PJ leaned forward. "Mutant hunt?" he repeated.

The screen changed to a full shot of the English Prime Minister talking at a podium. "The number of reported gifted people grows more and more every day, yet the number in our custody does not even compare," he said.

"That doesn't make sense," Phil muttered and leaned on the bar beside Dan.

Page was still talking. "The fact that these gifted people are escaping government custody is dangerous to the general public as well as unacceptable. There are multiple reports of incidents happening all across this country and others as well of these  _mutants_  losing control and hurting those around them. Where are they going in between being reported and our representatives coming to collect them?"

"But we are in government custody," Chris muttered in protest. PJ simply shushed him, and they continued to listen.

"Because of this fact, I am issuing a full scale manhunt for these gifted individuals who refuse to allow their country to feel safe. We will be doing no more waiting for reports alone, because we as a nation will not be afraid anymore. These mutants will be profiled and treated as armed and dangerous like they truly are. They are  _not_ like us and they will no longer be treated as such. Anyone who tries to harbor these dangerous individuals will be treated as accessories and will be dealt with in due process. There will be nowhere to hide any longer." Page started to take questions from the crowd after a short bout of applause.

"What... is happening?" Chris muttered, still staring wide eyed at the television.

PJ was shaking his head. "This doesn't make sense, we are already in government custody, we're taken as to make sure this doesn't happen," he whispered in panic.

"Page said something about what happens in between a report and the person being collected... does that mean..." Phil trailed off, as if he were actively trying to work it out while staring at the screen.

Dan waved his hand at them. "Wait!" he hissed.

Page had called on a male reporter in the front row. "How will anyone be able to tell who is mutant from just another person?" he asked.

"By looking at them, no one can tell. They look just like you or I. However, our scientists have developed an enzyme that will react with mutated blood. Therefore, when representatives begin mandatory testing, it takes only a drop of blood to be able to find out," the minister answered. PJ's jaw fell open. Page called on the female reporter beside the first one.

"Sir, is there any other reason to take these mutants into custody besides lessening the danger?" she asked him in a thick American accent.

Page pursed his lips, as if he were thinking long and hard about whether or not he wanted to answer. "Yes, there is. Of course our main reason for this manhunt is to ensure the safety of the British people, by any means necessary. When these mutants are finally brought in, our scientists will put them through a series of tests. We are determined to discover what has caused their mutations and why they have their specific gifts."

"They're going to experiment on us," Dan muttered, eyes still frozen to the screen.

"There's an entire school full of gifted people, why haven't they just started on us?" Phil said under his breath as the broadcast ended. Soon the football game was back on and the chatter restarted around the pub.

The foursome was silent for a while, thinking. Dan couldn't even fathom what was happening. The Prime Minister claims that those they have in custody don't match the number of reports. So, where are the others going? And now they were sending the military out looking for them, and subjecting people to blood tests. Was this happening outside of The School? Dan didn't have enough answers, and it making him very paranoid being out in public.

"Why would they be hunting for more 'mutants' to cut open when there are hundreds of us already in one place?" Chris asked.

"Can't believe they called us mutants," PJ said through his teeth.

Dan shook his head. "They wouldn't," he murmured.

"Then what could be going on?" Chris demanded a little too loudly. He shrunk a bit as other bar goers glanced over.

Dan looked over at Phil first, then at the others. "Someone is lying." 


	9. "Mutants Extraordinaire"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the DC heroes of Hawk and Dove, whom I loosely based my main characters on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this staying up late on Christmas Eve and then again on Christmas, after maybe too many Long Island iced teas. When the festivities end, write, right? Anyway, happy holidays everyone.

Soon after the broadcast, the boys left the pub. Even in his slightly inebriated state, it only took a moment for PJ to get the car running again. Then he climbed into the backseat with Chris, allowing Dan to take the front beside Phil. Their drive back to school was long and dark and mostly silent, until Phil spoke up, rousing Dan from his half-asleep state.

"Dan?"

He turned his head towards the other boy, but still rested against the window. "Yeah?"

"What do you think?" Phil asked him, "About what the Prime Minister said?"

Dan sighed heavily. "I don't really know. Either he's lying about not having a bunch of us locked up in The School, or the administration is lying to us," he said.

Phil was silent for a few moments. "Plus what happened with the firewall today," he said.

"Exactly. Even without the alcohol… this whole situation would make my head hurt," grumbled Dan.

Even in the darkness, Dan could vaguely see his friend pursing his lips. "I don't like thinking about it. Whichever part of the story is true, our lives are going to change. And we thought we had it bad before," he muttered.

At this point, Dan didn't really know what to think. Phil was right. Either the lot of them were going to be cut open for experimentation, or everything they knew was a lie. "We'll find out, Phil. We'll no doubt talk to the others-"

"Dan."

He closed his mouth. Phil had never interrupted him before, let alone has his voice ever wavered like it did just uttering his name. "Yeah?"

"Can you promise me something?" Phil asked quietly.

Dan swallowed. "Okay."

"Whatever happens, you and I will stick together. I can't… we wouldn't do well on our own," he whispered. Dan smiled to himself. He was right they did well together. "We're a team, Dan. Promise?" Phil continued.

"I promise," Dan replied.

He wasn't sure if he actually slept at all like Chris and PJ did, but the ride back to the facility seemed much shorter than the ride out. The car ended up right back in the spot they found it, and the foursome was silent as they walked back inside. No one really knew what to do next, except sleep off the alcohol and see if that helps with discovering a solution.

The next morning, even before the daily alarm went off, PJ was sitting on Dan and Phil's couch. Phil sat beside him, and their voices woke up Dan earlier than he was prepared for.

"I think we should bring this up to Jenna," Phil said as Dan stood in his doorway, rubbing one of his eyes, "She might know what's really going on."

PJ shook his head. "She doesn't. The firewall, remember? She was going to investigate it more," he said.

"We can at least ask her if she found anything, then mention what Page said. If she found out you were right, we'd need to bring it down and keep anyone from finding out more about us. Who knows what the consequences are… and if you're wrong, we somehow have to stop the mole," Phil said pensively, tapping his fingers against his knee.

Dan groaned, leaning against the doorjamb. "This is really hard to think about this early in the morning," he grumbled.

PJ looked sour. "I guess we could start with Jenna and Alfie. They're in charge, and I feel like we're getting a little too big for ourselves here."

Phil nodded and PJ got up. "See you guys at breakfast," he said and left out the door. Shortly after the alarm went off. Even though it was at the same time every day, it still made both boys jump.

Dan sat on the couch; his head back against the wall as Phil asked, "Are you hung over?"

"No. Should I be?" Dan replied.

"Well, it was your first time consuming alcohol last night. So I just assumed," Phil said, smiling a little. He stood and pat Dan's knee once. "I'm going to shower."

Dan got dressed and waited for Phil to finish, staring dejectedly at the mirror on his bedroom wall. Soon Phil walked by, his hair still damp. "What's wrong?"

"I look like a Hobbit," he replied quietly.

Phil tilted his head. "Personally, I like it," he said, "But I have a straightener if you want to use it."

Dan nearly fell over. "You've had a straightener for all this time and you _never told me?_ "

"I didn't know it would be so important!" Phil defended, holding up his hands in surrender. Dan rushed past his friend to the other room, diving for the straightener on the dresser before Phil could even offer to help.

Some time later Dan and Phil sat down at their usual breakfast table, which was more full than it usually was, probably because they were late. Dan sat his usual place next to Zoe and Phil sat on his other side. She looked up and smiled, and then her expression brightened even more. "Dan, your hair!" she said.

He reached up to touch his head. "Phil's been hiding his hair straightener from me. I didn't get to bring one from home, I used to do it like this every day in school," he explained.

"I like it," Zoe nodded, "It makes you look older. But the curls are cute."

"So are yours, but I don't get to see them anymore," Dan teased, touching a lock of Zoe's hair. She gave him a look and tossed her hair out of reach, effectively smacking him right in the face.

Zoe glanced over at the other end of the table, where Emma and Luke sat to PJ's right side. "How's the search for the mole? I'm assuming you know more than I do, considering you hang around our tech guru," she whispered, leaning close to Dan.

Dan pursed his lips. He wanted to tell Zoe everything, because he trusted her completely and she was just genuinely curious, but it would be dangerous with everyone around. He didn't know who was listening. Besides, PJ said he was going to tell everyone at the next meeting. It was already unfair that Dan, Phil, and Chris knew everything before even the resistance leaders did.

So instead, he just reached over and squeezed Zoe's hand. "You'll find out, I promise," he assured her.

She frowned, but nodded anyway. She was then silent for a few moments, looking like she was about to reply, when she happened to glance away. In that moment, she drew in a quick grasp and started to squeeze Dan's wrist in a surprisingly tight grip. "Whoa, whoa, what is it?" he said, prying his wrist away.

"Joe," she replied simply before she bolted to her feet, away from the table.

Dan, confused, hit Phil on the arm to get his attention but he had already noticed. Together they watched Zoe run across the room to the door, where a group of boys had just entered. Dan didn't recognize any of them, but it looked as though she did. Upon reaching the group, Zoe flung herself at a tall one in the front. He seemed equally as excited to see her, as he hugged her back tightly, lifting her feet clean off the ground.

"Who do you suppose that is?" muttered Phil.

"I don't know, but I think we're going to find out," Dan replied as Zoe dragged the boy over to their table. His friends followed, and Dan recognized their expressions; confused and a little afraid. They were new.

Zoe was nearly breathless when she arrived. "Everyone, this is my brother Joe," she said, gesturing him. Joe waved. "I'm sorry, I… didn't expect him to be here."

"I couldn't let you be here all on your own anymore," Joe said.

Zoe then gave him a look. "You need to tell me what you're doing here," she told him and sat back down next to Dan. Everyone shoved over and Joe pulled up a chair. The guys who had followed him had all but disbanded, except one blonde. Everyone shoved over again to make room for him as well.

"Talk," Zoe said firmly.

Joe nodded and cleared his throat. "Alright, alright. I'm just like you are, Zoe, mutant or whatever you'd like to be called. I always knew I was, but I didn't know you were too. So when you turned yourself in, I knew I should have too, but I didn't know how to contact you or anything. But then last night the Prime Minister made that speech, and I thought you'd be in trouble. So I just did it, and here I am," he said, shrugging at the end.

Zoe looked confused. "What did the-?"

Phil cleared his throat. "What can you do?" he asked, his voice slightly louder to distract from the previous question.

"Oh, er," Joe cleared his throat again, "I'm really fast. Even at top speed I don't get tired or worn out, even though my clothing tends to."

"That's why you did track and field," Zoe said and Joe shrugged again, nodding.

Then he smacked his unnamed friend in the arm. "Ask him what he can do, it's so much cooler!"

"Go on, then," Chris prompted, waving his hand in the general direction.

The boy shook his head, thinking. "I don't think there's a name for it, but I can change the molecular state of things. Like… turn a solid into a liquid and back again," he said.

"So you can change the speed of the atoms?" PJ asked him, his eyes widening.

He shrugged. "I suppose. I've never really looked into it."

PJ looked over at Dan, surprising the latter a bit, looking excited. Dan just grinned and nodded slowly. He knew what PJ was thinking; whoever this kid was, they needed him on their team. And Joe too, probably.

"Cool," PJ said with a smile, leaning back in his seat.

Phil leaned around Dan to look. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Caspar Lee," the boy replied.

Phil glanced at Dan. He said, "Glad to have you."

It turned out they put Joe and Caspar in Dan's reading class. Instead of writing his usual report on whatever book the supervisor assigned him (whose name turned out to also be Dan; weird) he got to watch Caspar do his thing. A younger boy of sixteen, all he had to do was get his hand close to an object and focus. Soon a book would be a vaguely colored puddle of goo on the table, and then with another wave it was back into a book.

Supervisor Dan only caught them once, and even then Caspar had an inventive excuse to get them out of trouble. It was a fun power, until Dan picked up the book and opened it. The pages were all upside down. Caspar said he didn't know how to bring things back exactly right.

"You'll learn. When I got here I could hardly show any emotion without burning something," Dan whispered.

Joe leaned closer. "What's your power?" he asked.

"Pyrokinesis," he replied.

"What?" Caspar said a little too loud.

"Sshh!" Joe hissed, shoving Caspar's things almost out of his reach, "Fire, you blockhead."

Caspar scowled at him briefly before turning back to Dan. "And it's connected to your emotions?" he asked.

"More like my heart rate. And a pain in the ass, it is," said Dan with a nod. Other Dan hushed them loudly, looking over the top of his book with disapproving eyes. The boys looked at each other and immaturely started to snicker before deciding to go back to their writing.

In afternoon training block, Dan and Phil were set to jog around the track as usual. They chatted nonchalantly, but considering they spent so much time together their small talk grew thin. After a few moments of silence, Phil spoke up. "Remember what I said about us being a team?"

"Yes," said Dan.

"Well, we need names. Nicknames, like the others. They should coordinate," Phil continued.

Dan shook his head. "No one has any ideas, and I sure don't. I refuse to let us be called Flame Prince and Jack Frost," he said.

"Why do you get to be first?" Phil asked, but Dan knew he was just kidding around by the small grin on his face.

"Because, we're _Dan and Phil._ It's already been established, we can't change it now," he said, "But you're right. We do need clever names. And nothing like Concussion, Marcus hates that and honestly it's stupid."

"Hey, it stuck!"

Dan rolled his eyes. "Come on, we should brainstorm. Like, what would your name be if you were a pro wrestler with ice powers?" he said.

Phil tilted his head. "Ricky Blitz!" he chirped.

"What? That's a crap name!" Dan argued.

He looked insulted. "Blitz! Like… blizzard?" he explained, but did not seem at all sure of himself, "And Ricky because it's a cooler name than mine."

"You can't pull off Ricky, Phil."

Phil glowered. "What's yours, then?"

"Dan... Daninator!" he replied, waving his arms before them as if gesturing to a marquee. As if his name… were in lights.

Phil started to laugh, and Dan simply shoved him. When he looked back over, the two of them shared a quiet look before the former cleared his throat. "Daninator and Ricky Blitz, huh? Mutants extraordinaire?" he teased.

"We should keep brainstorming," said Dan, looking away to hide his blushing cheeks.

Later at the resistance meeting, activities went as usual. The only exception was, of course, the foursome. Together they informed Jenna and Alfie about their experience at the pub in London.

"So on top of our mole problem, we have this to deal with?" Alfie asked them, as if accusing them of some sort of crime.

"Oi, s'not our fault the government is afraid of people who are different than they are," Chris retorted.

Jenna put her hands on her hips, frowning deeply. "Do we even know if this has any connection to us specifically?"

"It has too! And to everyone else in this place," Dan replied, "Either we're going to be experimented on or the administration is feeding us a story."

"Something around here is going to change," Phil added seriously.

Jenna and Alfie exchanged a look. They were all silent for a few moments before Jenna spoke up again. "Did you find out anything with the mole, Tech?"

"Nothing new," answered PJ.

"Same here. I did what I said I would and got into Hurley's office, but her computer was impossible. Just like the fire wall," Jenna added before PJ could jump in, "It was like it knew I was there even before I tried to guess the password. An 'access denied' screen popped up when I put my hands on the keyboard."

PJ snapped his fingers. "Brilliant. Either it's fingerprint _and_ password protected, or it was remotely controlled from an outside source that could see you trying to break in," he said.

Alfie pushed the heels of his hands into his eyes. "So what can we do?" he asked, sounding distresses.

"I could ask Cuss to go through everyone's heads, like I said I would," Jenna offered.

"You really need to stop calling him that," Chris muttered.

Alfie quickly shook his head. "That would only solve the mole problem, if there is one. We should wait it out and see if anything changes," he said.

Jenna rubbed her temple. "The four of you have really gotten yourselves in deep here," she said.

"This stuff didn't start happening until _he_ got here!" Chris exclaimed, pointing towards Dan.

"Hey, all I've done is help!" Dan argued, taking a step in the other boy's direction. Phil grabbed his bicep with one hand, and the other hand fell cool on Dan's shoulder. But he knew it was true. Everything around here was just School and Cause until Dan arrived and started fucking things up.

"Jenna?" Alfie prompted.

"Fine," she said, waving a hand, "In that case, we have work to do. You two-" She pointed between Dan and Phil, "-get to work. You have exercises to go over. Tech, you need to get the bus off the ground. And Chris… you just do what you do."

As Jenna walked away, Chris looked affronted. "I have a nickname too, you know," he muttered bitterly.

"What is it?" Phil asked him.

"Are you kidding?" he said, eyes wide, "The Ventriloquist! Like-"

"The people who talk through puppets?" Dan laughed. Chris simply glowered and Phil led his partner away, where they left the poolroom and went into the main gym.

He stood across from Dan and raised one of his hands. "Getting kind of mad around here, isn't it?" he said.

As if it was a reflex, Dan reached up and pressed the pads of his fingers to Phil's. Steam began to rise from their touch. Their hardest, yet simplest, exercise was to be so in synch that their hearts beat in tandem and their temperatures evened out. Easier said than done, especially now what with everything happening all at once. It made Dan's thoughts spiral. "We do seem to be right in the center," he said.

"Don't listen to Chris. He gets on everyone's case, and it's not like you've done anything," Phil said, his eyes focused on their hands and the steady steam cloud.

Dan was doing the same. "I know. But I can't help but feel that I was the catalyst to all this Sherlock Holmes investigating. Eavesdropping on Charlie and Jenna, basically inviting myself into this secret club, and starting to actually use my powers with you."

"They couldn't keep you away from me, Dan," Phil replied immediately. Dan looked up sharply, breaking focus, and the places where their skin was touching started to puff more steam. They faintly hissed as well. Dan's heart rate was increasing, and by the look of his flushed face, so was Phil's. "I-I just mean," he started to recover, and cleared his throat, "Our powers. They're made for each other, we-we were bound to come together sooner or later. They're too similar to not be used together."

Unable to help it, Dan searched his friend's eyes for a double meaning. They were intense, wide and icy blue. He didn't know if that was effect or coincidence. Yes, their powers naturally brought them together, but Dan liked to think he and Phil spent most of their time together because they really wanted to. He had never met someone like Phil before. Through all the strangeness and corruption, it was still the most fun he had ever had.

He shook his head to clear it and looked away from Phil's eyes. "We should focus," he muttered.

Phil shook his head too. "You're right, heart rate," he mumbled in reply.

"In and out, Ricky Blitz," Dan added teasingly, a smirk growing on his face.

His friend laughed lightly. "I'm going to use that one for something," he said. Between them, the hissing sound faded along with their steam cloud, almost at once.

After hours of their exercises, which Dan could do in his sleep, everyone left the old gym to head to bed. Jenna never showed again throughout the whole meeting. Dan walked beside Phil, their shoulders nearly touching with PJ and Chris on either side. Zoe kissed his cheek before she went her way with Alfie, and soon it was just the four of them walking up the stairs.

At the top they all froze. There, two men in suits were waiting. The foursome stepped back, confrontational. "Mr. Howell," one said. Dan's heart leapt into his throat, and he felt Phil's fingers latch onto his own. "Please come with us. Dr. Hurley would like a word with you."

Trying to remain impassive, Dan cast one glance around at his friends and followed. They walked a few steps in front of him, but he didn't want to run. Instead, his mind kicked into gear. This was going to be a similar meeting to the one Phil had, Dan knew, except now Hurley could know so much more after what Jenna did. There was also a slim chance that he was going to become the first experiment. There were just so many variables.

After climbing more flights of stairs than he cared to count, the men led him down a pristine and long hallway. The very end office had a door that said _Dr. Susan Hurley, Ph.D._ in gold letters across it. After two knocks, Dr. Hurley pulled the door open. "Yes, Mr. Howell. Come in," she said, stepping aside to allow him room. Dan passed her and looked around. The room was surprisingly normal looking for a woman he was supposed to hate.

"Sit," she said, gesturing to the chair before her desk. Dan did. She sat as well, and then folded her hands on the desk in front of her. "No need to be nervous. I just have a couple questions for you." Dan was nervous. Dr. Hurley's voice was sweet, but she was a very intimidating woman. Everything about her was perfect and not even a hair was out of place. It was unnerving.

"Firstly, how are you adjusting? Is your roommate giving you trouble?" Hurley began.

A little late for that question, but luckily Phil was a dream. "I'm fine. And no, he's great," Dan replied.

"Good, good. I expect you've been attending your history lessons?" she said.

Dan nodded once, curtly. "Yes."

"So, tell me what you know about the basement gym," she continued, leaning over the desk a bit. Dan felt the hair on the back of his neck rise.

However, his expression remained trained. Praise the drama gods. "It's blocked off and unusable. Condemned," he replied.

"Then how do you know where it is?" Hurley asked next, her voice developing an edge.

Dan didn't waver in his expression, but temperature in the room spiked. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"And why are car parts being stolen from the scrap yard?"

"I don't know anything about that," Dan said firmly, shaking his head. He took a deep breath and clenched his fists on his lap. Heat boiled beneath his skin.

Hurley plowed on, seemingly unaffected by Dan's answers. "Is there anything going on here that I should know about?" she demanded of him.

Heart rate, Dan, heart rate. Fuck the heart rate, he thought harshly. "No, Dr. Hurley, is there something going on here that _I_ should know about?" he asked her sharply. She didn't answer, but her expression remained the same. "Is there something going on here that _we all_ should know about? Mutant hunt? Experimentation?" he continued, talking through his teeth.

"Please answer the questions, Daniel," she continued indifferently.

Was she not hearing any of this? The people in this facility were humans, even if they were different. A person had to be heartless to allow experimentation on a fellow being. "Don't call me that," he snapped, "This ends right now. Why are you keeping us sheltered here? Why are you dowsing our abilities? _Why?"_

Still, Dr. Hurley's expression hardly changed. The fact that she wasn't even reacting made him even angrier. "What is going on in this hell of a place?" Dan demanded, nearly shouting now, and standing. When did he stand up? "That's why we don't get real TV, or mobile phones, or even radio, isn't it? You don't want us to know anything accept the crap you feed us here!" he exclaimed, slamming his palms onto the desk between them.

Flames licked out from beneath Dan's hands and slowly started to crawl up his arms, encasing them. They almost seemed to fuel him, as if the fire itself was feeding Dan's anger; anger at Dr. Hurley, at his situation, and _everything in his fucked up life._ And Dr. Hurley still did not say a word.

"Why won't you _answer me?_ " Dan shouted, reaching out for her, any part of her to try and scare the answer out of her. Suddenly something banged open and Dan jumped away.

It was a door, in the corner of the room behind the desk. He hadn't even noticed there was a door there before then. The flames immediately extinguished, leaving in their wake puffs of black smoke and the charred ends of Dan's t-shirt sleeves. A woman had come rushing out of the door, young and blonde and looking absolutely terrified.

"Wait!" she shouted, holding her arm out towards Dan. He looked in between her and Dr. Hurley, the latter still in the same position as before, as if she had a kill switch on her neck and someone had flipped it.

Dan looked and felt incredibly confused. He stepped back a bit, pushing the chair with him. "Who are you?" he asked slowly, "And what is going on?"

The woman gulped and played with the ends of her pink cardigan. "My name is Louise. And I suppose I have a lot of explaining to do," she said bashfully.


	10. "Hawk and Dove"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the DC heroes of Hawk and Dove, whom I loosely based my main characters on.

Dan took more steps backward, growing instantly confused and defensive. The blonde woman, Louise, wrung her hands in front of her. And Dr. Hurley made no sounds or movements the whole time. She was still staring firmly at the place where Dan’s chair had been.

“Please start explaining,” he said quietly. His anger and frustration melted away, and in their place were only questions.

Louise swallowed, glanced at Dan, and walked over to Dr. Hurley. Dan couldn’t quite see what she was doing, but soon the latter was moving again. Her fingers unlaced, then her arms moved down to her sides, and then she sat up rim-rod straight. Her expression was blank as she said, “Going into stand-by mode.” Then silence. No movement whatsoever.

Dr. Hurley was a robot. Dan stared, his jaw going slack.

Louise cleared her throat. “I made her. Believable, isn’t she?” she said, and although she was extremely trepidatious there was still a glint of pride behind her voice. This woman –couldn’t be _that_ much older than Dan- made this robot. A robot that looked so real and talked like a human and ran an entire facility of gifted children. And she was proud of it.

Dan supposed the robot didn’t run The School. Louise must do it.

“You haven’t started explaining,” he prompted snappily.

Louise swallowed and put her hands on the back of Dr. Hurley’s chair. “Right. Might as well tell you since there’s no point in beating around the bush,” she said and took another breath, “My name is Louise Pentland, and I’m a super genius. I developed this entire place. All the men you see around here… well, they’re not men, they’re androids, I built them.”

“Wait,” Dan interrupted, holding up her hand, “The administration, all the people who walk around with the suits and ear pieces. They’re _robots?”_

Louise nodded. “Yes. I grew up in the next town over, you see, on the other side of the hills. This building has been here for years. I community center, I think it was? Yes. Anyway, I programmed the androids to fix it up to make it look like this. Ages it took, but I finally did it years ago. And here we are,” she said, a small smile creeping onto her lips.

That explains the old gym, and the poolroom. “What about the junk yard?” Dan asked.

“It came with the building. Old places acquire old things over the years. But, old things can be made new,” Louise said and placed her hand on Dr. Hurley’s shoulder, “I made this one out of parts I found in that junk yard. Can’t tell now, can you?”

“No,” Dan conceded. He was still so, _so_ confused. “Please. What _is_ this place? If Dr. Hurley is a robot, if they’re _all_ robots, then who is running this place? You? And you said you were a super genius. You’re… one of us?”

This time Louise smiled for real, as if Dan had just made her dreams come true. “Yes. I also have a genetic mutation that makes me different than others. Like you have,” she said.

“Okay. Then… why are you doing this to us? Taking us away from our families, Prime Minister Page searching for us, the blood samples. The experimentation!” Dan rattled off, putting a hand in his hair.

“I can explain,” Louise told him, once again, “Please, have a seat. You’re making me nervous standing over there, you’re much taller than I am.”

Slowly, Dan pulled up the chair he had knocked back and sat before the desk. Louise pulled one that was sitting next to a bookshelf and sat down in it beside Dan, facing him. When he gave her a questioning look, she smiled. “The person sitting behind a desk creates an illusion of power by doing so. There’s no point for me to do that between us,” she said.

Dan just nodded. Now he could believe she was a genius. That explains why PJ couldn’t hack into the system. She coded it herself to make it impenetrable. Phil had this theory, maybe not completely correct, but close. He stored it away to ask about later. “Alright. Start talking,” he said.

Louise cleared her throat. “This place is not what you think it is. I do not work for the government, not anymore. I made this facility to _protect_ people like us from them. Page’s mutant hunt? It’s been in the works for a long time. Yes, I lie to everyone here. I make them feel powerless. I make highly qualified tutors teach young people to suppress their abilities,” she looked down, “But this is better than telling everyone the truth. If I did, they would feel empowered and try to take down their oppressors. Which I am all for, since I let your group of friends traipse around like you do, but if it were everyone it would be a different story. They would get serious. And with our small numbers we would lose more than we gain. So I make you feel like prisoners instead of heroes.”

“Wait. You _know?_ About the resistance?” Dan asked, suddenly feeling very exposed.

Louise actually barked a laugh. “Of course I do! I figured some sort of rebellion would form when I wrote all the strict rules and made you check in at every meal. Daniel, I’m a super genius. I know when someone turns off my camera system to bring your new members in. I know you’re learning how to use your energy. I know Jenna Mourey and Alfie Deyes are running the show. I also know the technopath has rebuilt a school bus. That is something I did not see coming,” she said, shaking her head.

“It’s Dan. So you’ve gotten all this from cameras?” he questioned.

“No, I’m kept updated.”

_“What?”_

She sighed. “Your friends were right when they figured out there was a mole. Actually, you have two. The whole resistance was Jenna’s idea, but when it was formed I approached one of the founding members. And then his friend, because it was hard to keep things from him anyway, he could tell the androids weren’t human. They don’t have brains.”

“Who are they?”

“Alfie and Marcus. They know everything,” Louise replied, “You didn’t have to worry about him going through your heads, he was the mole the whole time. That was really for Jenna’s benefit.”

Dan sat back, looking away. Even though it was all a sham, he couldn’t help but feel slightly betrayed. His head still swirled. “So you hide out behind that hole in the wall and let us work? Then what’s the point of these interrogations? You’ve had a number of my friends in this office,” he said.

“To stay on top of things, Daniel-”

“Dan.”

“To make sure my secrets are upheld. Like I said, protecting so many people only works if they don’t think they have the power to start an entire revolution on their own. I wrote Dr. Hurley’s entire vocabulary and her responses are automated. I ask about the basement gym to make sure no one has spotted the actual age of the building. I ask about the junk yard because I want to make sure no one realizes that I’m the one stealing parts all the time. I don’t care that your rebel group goes out there. Go nuts! But androids break more often than I would like, and I’m still working out the kinks,” she said and snapped her fingers, “I could recruit your technopath friend. What’s his name?”

“PJ.”

“Right, yes. Perhaps I will do that,” she said, nodding, more to herself than to Dan it seemed.

Dan schooled his expression. He had been listening, almost in awe at what was actually happening here. “Why do you keep us here if you know we want to get out?” he asked.

“Do you want to be a lab rat for Page?” Louise said, raising an eyebrow.

Dan scoffed, looking away. “No! But there are more of us out there who don’t want to be either!”

“Less than you think,” Louise added.

“Still,” he grumbled, pushing his hand through his hair, “In the entire _country?_ In all of the United Kingdom? There’s bound to be at least a hundred more, most of them probably children. So we let Page cut up their brains?”

Louise looked down, looking extremely disheartened. “I can’t save everyone, no matter how much I want to. I know a few have already been lost by this point,” she said. She reached over and put her hand on Dan’s arm. He didn’t shake her off. “But I am very glad you and your little Fantastic Foursome are so rebellious. If you hadn’t seen that the Prime Minister is putting his plan into effect, I would have never known. I try to keep up on the news, but I actually have a lot to do around here.”

Dan took a breath. “You said you don’t work for the government anymore? That means you did at one point,” he said.

She nodded. “Yes, I did. Being brilliant as I am, I graduated university very young and was brought into MI5 almost straight away. That’s where I started to work on the enzyme for Page. Yes, I developed it,” she added at Dan’s horrified look, “But it was not perfect, even by the time I left. I dearly hope that it’s gotten there now that they’re going to use it.”

“You didn’t know what the purpose of it was, did you?” Dan said.

“Not at first. You don’t really ask questions in a place like MI5, Dan. But, young as I was, I was curious and of course smart enough to hack into the files of my superiors. It’s like cutting through butter,” she said, waving her hand.

Dan cracked a smile for the first time since he separated from Phil. “I have a feeling you and PJ would get along nicely,” he commented.

Louise preened for only a moment. “Anyway, I figured out what they were going to use it for and decided I wasn’t going to aid crimes against my own kind. I was surprised they hadn’t figured out I was one of them,” she said with a light laugh, “But I had no power to stop it, so I decided to resign. Luckily the whole project was put on a shelf before I could even pack up my lab space.”

“They’ve obviously brought it out again. Page said they were going to interrogate people, and take blood samples to mix with the enzyme. Not only is that a complete invasion of the human body, but if it works then they’ll have any number of ‘our kind’ in one of those labs,” Dan said, “And, no offence- no, take offence. What you’re doing here is not helping all that much.”

Her cheeks colored. “Well, I’m not trying to start a _real_ rebellion. The School is here to protect people.”

Dan threw a hand in the air. “Then we should start a real rebellion! Just like you said, you’re lying to everyone here. Page needs to be stopped, and the British people need to be taught not to fear us anymore. Keeping us all locked up is not going to do anything,” he said, “Also, great name.”

“It’s the most logical choice. I’m super smart, not super creative,” Louise rebuffed, “So… what would you do, then?”

Dan huffed and thought a few moments, leaning forward on his knees. “First, I’d want to tell everyone what is actually going on here. Not just the resistance, every person here deserves to know. Give them a little power and make sure their voices are heard. Next I’d start real training, combative training,” he began.

“You want to _fight?_ ” Louise interrupted.

“As a precaution, we might have to. We can’t just walk into Parliament and ask them to stop hating us, can we? So we need some skill. And, lots of us have offensive powers.”

“Like you. You almost incinerated my android,” she said.

“Yes, like me. And Phil, and Alfie, and Charlie. We could help if we were free to,” Dan said. He looked at Louise while she thought, and he didn’t remember turning to face her properly during this whole exchange. Her hair fell in front of her face, obscuring it from his view.

Finally she looked back up at him and nodded once. “Okay. Let’s do it,” she said firmly.

Dan blinked. “Wait, really?”

“Yes, silly. You’re right. Keeping you all safe isn’t enough anymore, not with this new witch-hunt going on. The government knows you’ve been taken somewhere, but they don’t know where. Who do you think they’ll ask first, Dan?” she said.

His heart leapt. “Our families.”

“Exactly, and I don’t imagine the soldiers they have out there on the hunt are going to be well receptive to the word no. You all have someone to keep safe,” she said and took a deep breath, “So. Time for change.”

Fucking what. Dan looked at her a bit longer, and she simply smiled a little and waited for his reaction. “Wow. Okay. One question first,” he said, holding up a finger, “Why are you telling me all of this?”

Louise chuckled. “Well, for one, you almost killed my android and that would have been very bad. She can’t defend herself, you know. I suppose now it doesn’t matter,” she said and looked over Hurley-bot for a moment, “And, I believe you. You have conviction, you especially out of every one of your friends. Your power is offensive, as you mentioned. You’re a natural born leader, Dan.”

Dan gulped. Leading didn’t really seem like something he was prepared for. “Well, maybe. This is all very sudden and kind of overwhelming.”

“I know, but now you know everything,” Louise said, “Where should we start tomorrow?”

Dan drummed his fingers on his knee. “We’ll bring everyone into the auditorium after breakfast and fill them in at the same time,” he said decidedly.

“Brilliant, it’s a plan.”

Dan gave a tight-lipped smile and met her eyes. “Can I…?” he stopped, letting the question hang in the air. He didn’t understand how the authority in this place worked anymore.

Louise nodded. “Go, you should get some sleep. You don’t need to ask me, I’m not your boss. In fact, you should probably be mine,” she said, surprisingly bright, “Everything changes tomorrow! It’s been great talking with you, Dan. I’ve forgotten that human interaction is an important part to a healthy psyche.”

So Dan left and went back to his room. Even though he knew now that it didn’t even matter, he was still hyperaware of every camera he passed, conditioned by now to be afraid of getting caught. The whole walk back he tried to compartmentalize. Louise was the mastermind behind the entirety of the facility’s administration. She’s a former MI5 scientist. She encrypted the computer system to hide her secrets, which explains why PJ couldn’t hack it or find a signal. The cameras run independently and there are some even PJ doesn’t know about. Alfie and Marcus know about _everything_. Jenna does not. Now Dan knows all about it as well. They’re going to try and stop the Prime Minister from hurting any other mutants and try to prove they’re not dangerous. Dan was “a natural born leader”.

Phil was asleep on the couch when he walked in, which probably happened because he waited up for Dan. He was touched, his cheeks swelling with color even with Phil asleep. He was roused just enough to carry himself to bed before Dan went to sleep as well. Like Louise said, everything changes tomorrow.

In the morning everything went as usual. The alarm went off, Phil got in the shower. Dan lay in bed for a little extra time, since his time schedule basically meant nothing now. Its only purpose was to provide structure in the world that was very soon going to be upside down. The foursome had known something was going to change, but Dan still didn’t believe that it was going to be this much change.

By the time Phil got out of the shower, Dan had gotten up and changed his clothes. He was sitting on his bed when Phil knocked on his door. “Ready?”

Dan stood. “Ready,” he said.

As they left the room for the cafeteria, Phil watched him. “Are you okay? You look a little green, actually,” he commented.

Clearing his throat, Dan nodded. “Yes, I’m okay. But,” he considered telling Phil everything right then and there, “You’ll see later. Nevermind.”

“Nevermind?” Phil repeated, bewildered. They never had secrets between them.

“I know, I’m sorry, but you’ll know really soon I promise,” Dan said, reaching out to boldly take Phil’s hand and squeeze. It hissed for a moment but swiftly stopped. Phil smiled a little and nodded, but Dan knew being cryptic hadn’t decreased his friend’s worrying at all. It was written all over his face. Dan dropped his hand almost as quickly as he had grabbed it.

Dan and Phil sat down with their friends in their usual spots. Dan felt extremely weird keeping such a huge secret, that all his friends were living lies as if it were normal. It’s when Zoe and Alfie walked in together, fingers interlaced, that Dan decided he would tell Alfie that he was up to date. He made a short excuse to Phil and got up to go meet him on the other side of the room.

“Hi, Dan,” Zoe chirped when he approached. He glanced down at her hand closed tight in Alfie’s, and made a mental note to ask about that later. His mind was starting to become overrun with mental notes.

“Hey,” Dan replied with a clipped smile. Then he directed his gaze to Alfie. “Could I talk to you for a moment?” he said.

Alfie raised his eyebrows, and then glanced around. He wasn’t in Dan’s department, so it would look a little strange for them to be seen speaking alone together. Impatient, Dan tilted his head and waited. He knew it didn’t matter what anyone around them thought, and it was starting to annoy him that Alfie was so good at keeping up pretenses.

Finally he nodded. “Alright. We’ll go out there,” he said, nodding back towards the hallway. He told Zoe he’d be right back and she walked towards their table, looking curious but not like she was about to ask. Dan followed him out into the corridor, his pulse now thudding loudly in his ears. Alfie turned to him. “What’s up?”

Dan didn’t know how to begin. Honestly this was a rash decision and he really should have thought this through. Maybe went to find Marcus as well. “I know,” he said lamely.

Alfie tilted his head. “Know what?”

“Everything,” Dan continued and then dropped his voice, “About Louise.”

The other’s eyes widened considerably, which was understandable. It was kind of a huge thing, and there were probably a lot of questions as to why Louise trusted a loser kid like Dan. “Why did she tell you?” Alfie asked him.

“It was an accident. I was called into one of those meetings with Dr. Hurley yesterday,” he began, scratching the back of his neck, “And I almost cooked her.”

Surprisingly, Alfie started to laugh, tilting his head back. “Well, that’s one way to do it. Louise loves her androids; she would have been devastated if one of them were destroyed. And then the cat would have been out of the bag anyway,” he said.

“Right,” Dan sighed, cracking a smile. He felt a little less nervous now that Alfie had laughed. But there was still the second part of the conversation. “She’s also going to tell everyone.”

Alfie stopped laughing. “What?”

Dan sighed. “That part was sort of my idea. I gave Louise the third degree about keeping all of this from an entire facility full of us and making us feel like prisoners for something we can’t control,” he said, “So after breakfast she’s bringing everyone together in the auditorium and spilling everything.”

Alfie just blinked, not saying anything. Dan understood why, but it still brought back his anxiety about the whole situation back full force. “I thought you should know,” he added. The other started to nod slowly.

“Thanks, Dan. At least now I can be some sort of prepared.”

Dan nodded. “Sure thing,” he replied. Alfie brushed past him and into the cafeteria. Sighing, he prepared himself to go back inside and pretend everything was normal. Even though she and Alfie had come in holding hands, Zoe still sat in her usual space. Joe now sat on her other side. They didn’t seem to want to be apart for very long.

Sometimes looking at them made Dan miss his own brother.

“What was that about?” she asked him.

“Um,” Dan said and saw Phil look over at out of the corner of his eye. He knew Phil knew something was up. “You’ll see,” he told her, managing a small smile.

The rest of the breakfast block was thankfully not an interrogation. The rest of his friends also did not seem to notice anything was wrong. Dan was quite good at acting like nothing was out of the ordinary. He silently thanked his years of drama while he laughed at Chris’s jokes and listen to Carrie tell stories from her statistics class. The only thing, a small thing that was different is that Dan didn’t eat anything. No one noticed, except for Phil of course.

At one point he reached over and squeezed Dan’s knee. His mouth dried right up when Phil didn’t move his hand afterwards.

Before he was ready, the bell tolled, and breakfast was over. As everyone started to rise and throw their things away, an announcement blared over the loud speakers. Dan froze to listen.

“Attention, everyone,” it was the cool voice of the Hurley-bot, “Today we are interrupting your daily schedules for a very important assembly. Everyone must be seated in the auditorium, as we will begin in just twenty minutes. Let me reiterate, this is _very important._ Thank you.”

The PA system cut out. The resistance members stood around exchanging looks. Dan couldn’t help but notice that a lot of them looked over at Dan, and at Phil. Sighing, the former decided to start the trek and walked towards the door. Moments later the others followed. Ever since Louise pointed out the “natural leader” thing, he couldn’t help but notice that things like this happened more often then he was used to.

Phil sidled up beside Dan. “This is what’s making you jittery, isn’t it?” he said.

“You know me so well,” the younger one replied.

“Better than most,” Phil agreed, “You know what’s going on and you don’t like hiding it.”

“Yep.”

“And you’re not going to say anything?”

Dan shook his head. “It won’t be a secret for much longer. Just… prepare yourself and don’t freak out,” he advised.

Phil smiled at him. “Dan, if I can be described as anything in life it would be _chill_ ,” he whispered. Dan cracked a smile and muttered something along the lines of ‘you spork’ while they entered the auditorium.

Dan sat in the very front row, feeling there was no point in trying to hide. Phil sat beside him, and the others filled in the rest of the row. Dan’s knee shook nervously while everyone else filled in the seats, and in his opinion they were moving much too slowly. There was no point in putting it off. However, if he were in their shoes, he would probably be a little anxious about what was to come as well.

The anxiety was all for _nothing._ It just made his blood boil, almost in the literal sense.

Twenty minutes later, to the second, the stage lights lit up. Dan lifted his head to look, not really sure what to expect. And what did happen was definitely not it: the Hurley-bot walking onto the stage. It reminded him of his first day in this place and _that_ felt like a lifetime ago.

“Thank you for coming so quickly,” the android said, inclining her head, “As I said, this is of the utmost importance. While we speak, I’d appreciate complete silence until we are finished. Thank you.”

Dan quirked a brow. A little light on the humanization, Louise.

There were confused murmurs all around the auditorium, and then Alfie jogged onto the stage. Zoe sucked in a breath on the other side of Phil. “Err, hey guys,” he said, waving a hand vaguely. He must have gone to find Louise beforehand. Dan didn’t look at his friends. “So, my name is Alfie Deyes, for any of you who don’t know and I’m a case worker here. Um, I ask that you remain seated and not freak out.”

When Louise slowly made her way onto the stage Dan realized why Alfie was up there with her: for protection. Louise paused, opened her mouth like she was going to say something, and then walked over to the android. She opened the neck panel, pressed a few buttons, and then it shut down. The file that had been clutched in the robot’s arms fell to the ground, empty. Confused murmurs spread through the crowd.

“Hello,” Louise said, waving her hand in greeting, “My name is Louise Pentland. And everything you know about this place is a lie.”

This time the murmurs bloomed into talking. Dan avoided meeting Phil’s eye. Louise had to remind them that she asked them to be quiet until she finished. Once she had everyone’s attention again, she went into a similar speech to the one she gave to him. She added in Prime Minister Page, the witch-hunt, the experiments. Everyone seated around Dan was silent, and out of the corner of his eye he could see that Phil’s mouth was slightly open. She ended with, “I’m not trying to start an uprising. Just someone with a little more understanding of people encouraged me to come clean. You all deserve more than what I’ve given you.”

This time Dan did meet Phil’s eye. He raised his eyebrows in question. Dan nodded, confirming that this was what he was hiding, and was about to turn away when something caught his eye over his friend’s shoulder. Someone approached the stage, and Dan’s eyes widened when he saw who it was.

Jenna stood in the light, arms crossed. “So what about you, dumbbell?” she snapped.

Alfie, whose face turned beet red, approached the lip of the stage. “I was a resistance leader. I was keeping up the image to help Louise protect our population,” he said, “I was in on it.”

Dan could only see the back of her head, but he could imagine how infuriated Jenna looked. From somewhere in the rows behind them, someone piped up. “I was in on it too.” It was Marcus.

Jenna spun around, glared furiously, and then looked back at the stage. “So what happens now? Since obviously everything I’ve known, every thing I’ve been _in charge of_ , is fake I assume I have to ask you two,” she continued, gesturing towards the stage.

Louise found Dan in the crowd. He didn’t quite know what to do. She looked away. “I don’t expect us to do anything. I was going to work nearly around the clock to find more of us before the government does-”

“Do nothing?” Jenna interrupted, dropping her hands to her sides, “You expect us all to walk around here like everything is normal after you dropped this huge bomb on us?”

Louise looked down at her feet. She wasn’t cut out for this much human interaction; her mind was wired for a different kind of intelligence. Jenna was being harsh, but Dan understood why. He recognized her tone. She felt betrayed, by the system and probably by Alfie, and Dan remembered that feeling from when his own parents turned him in. There wasn’t even a goodbye.

But after Jenna’s statement, there were outcries all over the room. People agreed with her. Dan turned in his chair, looking around. The auditorium wasn’t even half full, and most of them were children. The older ones were part of the resistance, except for a few. Dan turned back around as Alfie tried to get everyone’s attention again. “Listen! Being unhappy in a facility of your peers is different than trying to stop the actual government of the United Kingdom. We can’t just storm the city of London!” he said.

“We can’t sit around either!” someone in the crowd argued.

More angry shouts followed that. People started to stand, and the shouting swelled to an influx of questions and suggestions and garbled words. Even some of Dan’s friends were on their feet, protesting along. Louise and Alfie looked helpless, and Dan’s hand closed around his armrest. They were right; they couldn’t just do nothing and pretend everything was fine. They couldn’t wait for more mutant kids to just fall into the hands of Louise’s androids. They needed to stop the mutant hunts and save those people. And that wasn’t going to happen with them all being safe in this glorified prison. Louise had conveniently left out that she had agreed to his ideas in her office last night. He supposed it was up to him.

Dan sprang to his feet and started to push towards the stage. Phil gasped his name in surprise and it sounded like he was following. Dan wasted no time and climbed right up onto the apron, surprising Alfie. Louise simply stepped back. The flurry of words from the crowd didn’t stop.

Heat surged down his limbs at Dan’s command, and pooled in his palms. They caught almost immediately. He breathed out once, a puff of black smoke dispelled from his mouth, and he waved his hands over his head to get their attention. “Hey!” he shouted. The shouting cut off abruptly and the ones closest to the stage backed up a few paces. Dan retracted the heat and didn’t even have time to congratulate himself. He was too focused.

“I was just as confused as you all are when I found out, but _this,_ ” he gestured to the crowd, “Is accomplishing nothing. In case you all haven’t noticed this place _has_ kept us safe. Louise’s methods may not have been pleasant, but they were the most logical, because here we are. Without her, and without this, some of us could be in the capitol right now with our heads cut open.” No one said anything. Jenna still looked irate. “I agree with a good portion of you. We have to do something. But Alfie is right in the fact that we can’t just attack. Hardly any of you know how to fight, which we would need to do to break in.”

“Wait,” Phil interrupted, a few steps behind him. He moved to stand beside Dan. “Who says anything about breaking in? We don’t have to be aggressive about this. We’re all people with the ability to talk.”

The crowd shifted, and there were a couple words of agreement. Dan looked around at them, confused, for a few moments before he replied.

“They’re scared of us, Phil. No one in power, especially not the Prime Minister, is going to want to be in the same room with us. We can’t just call a meeting,” he said, gesturing with his arm.

There were a few more murmurs from the crowd, agreeing with Dan. Zoe, Carrie, Joe, and Caspar had pushed themselves to the front. Dan glanced down at them and then back at Phil, who looked pensive. “But going in guns ablaze will get _us_ shot,” he replied, “We’ll basically be starting a war.”

Murmurs of agreement spread through the crowd. Dan and Phil looked at them, and then at each other. “Well, we have to do something,” Dan said, shaking his head, “Pretending like nothing’s changed is not an option.”

The other nodded. “I know. And we will do something,” he said.

Jenna scoffed. “You two are also getting us no where. Who put you in charge?” she said.

Dan furrowed his eyebrows. Again with the leader thing… maybe he should start getting used to it. “No one put us in-”

“I wouldn’t mind if Dan and Phil were in charge,” Zoe piped up, a few people over from Jenna, “They have good ideas and they know how to use their abilities. I’ve seen it.” Resistance members around her put in their assent, nodding. Dan looked over to see Phil’s cheeks coloring.

“Maybe we should listen to them after all,” Carrie said firmly.

Louise piped up, inclining her head hopefully. “Maybe we should have a more intimate meeting?”

“Well, that’s never going to happen with hawk and dove over here arguing,” PJ added as he and Chris joined them on the stage.

Dan and Phil both looked over, eyes widening. “What?” they said in tandem.

PJ looked speculative. “Hawk and dove? You know, during war, the hawks are the people who want to fight and the doves are the people who want to talk,” he said.

Dan and Phil exchanged another look, their smiles growing. There it was, _that_ was it.

“Alright, Hawk and Dove,” Alfie said, stepping forward, “What do we do first?”


	11. "Harder, faster, more often."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the DC heroes of Hawk and Dove, whom I loosely based my main characters on.

They decided that it would be better to have a more intimate meeting about their plans. The strange part was that everyone immediately started looking to Dan and Phil for orders. Dan didn't really consider them orders… more like suggestions that everyone followed no matter what. Even though they picked Dan and Phil to lead them, they knew they needed more opinions on their task at hand.

After Alfie asked what to do first, Phil suggested that everyone head back to their rooms in the meantime. There was no point to go to lessons or training block when they were going to change everything anyway. Carrie and Charlie volunteered to make sure everyone got back okay without trying anything funny. The last thing they needed were a bunch of preteens running away into the mountains. While that happened, Dan and Phil decided on who would help them out.

"Like a council?" Chris said, looking speculative.

Phil nodded. "Exactly. Like a cabinet of advisors to make sure Dan doesn't convince me to let him set everything on fire," he said.

Dan looked indignant. "I resent that, you twit."

The two of them seemed to agree on this without argument. Chris and PJ were their first choices, obviously. They went on to also pick Louise, Alfie, Zoe, Marcus, and Jenna. They were all ready to head back to Louise's office to discuss when Zoe piped up.

"Where's Jenna?"

Dan paused and looked around. Even amidst the dispersing crowd, Jenna couldn't be seen. She was tall and blonde; it wasn't easy to miss her. He wondered where she could have gone off to, but he was a bit worried considering how she reacted to the reveal. Frowning, Dan turned to Marcus. "Can you go see if you can find her, then meet us in the office?" he asked. Marcus nodded and hopped off the stage.

Phil inclined his head. "Right then, lets go," he said. Louise led the way up to her office. The door still had Dr. Hurley's plaque on it, and Dan ignored it as he walked into the room. Louise rolled the chair out from behind the desk and sat in between the two others that were previously left. Phil sat right on the desk and Dan decided to lean against it beside him, and the others found their own seats. And moments later they were all looking at Dan and Phil, and Dan realized he had no idea how to conduct a meeting.

"So," he started, a little awkwardly, "Who has ideas? Anyone?"

It was silent for a moment before Zoe cleared her throat. "I agree with your sentiment, Dan. I think we should take a more, well, aggressive approach to ending the mutant hunt," she said.

"I disagree, actually," stated Louise, "I think that would hurt our chances of getting our point across. They're afraid that we're dangerous, wouldn't attacking prove that sentiment?"

"But if we went in peacefully, they could just take us in if we _don't_ fight," Alfie added.

"But fighting could start a war," Phil said, frowning.

"And I don't think a war of just us versus the British Armed Forces is going to be much of a fight," Chris agreed, shrugging his shoulders.

Dan sighed. "But this really isn't _about_ us, is it? This is about people who are still out there being hunted down like criminals, and the people who have already been taken in could be getting cut open. It's _already happened._ Right, Louise?" He looked pointedly at her. She sunk down a bit and nodded. "See? She worked in the lab, guys. They needed mutant blood to fabricate the enzyme they're using to identify them now. We have to save them!"

There was silence for a few beats. "You're suggesting we become super heroes, Dan," Alfie said quietly.

Dan took a breath, sighing. Everyone had a good point; especially Phil. Going in fighting would look, to the general public, like they _were_ dangerous monsters just as the prime minister told them. But without fighting, at least a bit, the captive mutants won't be released. Nor will the hunts stop. He felt like no one would want to hear what they have to say even if they did try getting a meeting with someone in power.

"Yes," said Dan, "That's exactly what I'm suggesting."

"I have an idea," Phil chirped.

"What's your idea?" Dan said, shifting his attention to his friend beside him.

Phil cleared his throat. "We seem to be split down the middle in our tactics here, so I think we should sort of… meet in the middle. We can try to talk it out, but aggressively, like Zoe said," he explained.

Everyone, especially Dan, looked a little skeptical. "How so?" PJ ventured.

"Well, okay, maybe 'talking aggressively' was the wrong way to word it. Out of everyone here the resistance members have been trained the most, right? And we have a pretty good number, so maybe some of us can break in and try to find whomever they're keeping at the MI5 labs. And another team can keep the big wigs talking. Maybe try to make them see sense," Phil concluded, and at the end he grinned proudly.

Dan glanced around at the others. They seemed to agree. "Phil, that's brilliant," he said.

His cheeks colored but his smile remained intact. "Thanks," he said.

"Then that's the plan," Alfie said just as the door opened. It was Marcus, and he was alone.

Dan tilted his head. "Where's Jenna?" he questioned.

Marcus frowned and shook his head. "I don't know. I followed the crowd and she wasn't there. I went to her room, and her office down the hall, and she wasn't in those places either," he said.

"You mean she's gone?" Zoe asked, her eyebrows nearly at her hairline.

"I guess so," he replied and leaned against the wall beside the door, "So. Have we made a plan in my absence?"

Phil filled him on the idea. Marcus seemed to be on Dan's side, so if they weren't going to go with Phil's idea and take it up to a vote, Dan's way would have won. It didn't matter to him at all, because the less extreme form of fighting was a better decision anyway. And now Dan was quite worried where Jenna could have gone off to.

"Do you know what else we can do, besides try to free people from the experiments?" PJ suggested, "Take the enzyme research. So they can't make more of it in our meantime of stopping the hunt."

"I like it," Dan nodded.

"Right, so there's a few things we have to do before we can execute this plan," Louise said. She got up and went over to the corner, pulling open her secret door in the wall. There wasn't a lot of time to react before she was back with a small whiteboard. Of course she had a whiteboard in there. She placed it on the desk beside Phil and motioned for everyone else to crowd around. "First, we need to decide who's going to go. How many of us will be doing the talking, how many will be breaking into the labs. Second, we need to find a way to get _in_ , for both teams. The team doing the talking needs a reason to be there. The team breaking in needs to get into the research lab without getting caught or tripping any alarms. I think I'll be able to handle any counterfeit documents," she said, writing all her points in purple marker on the board, "Oh, we also need transportation."

"We have that!" PJ said, brightening, "The bus. We can drive it into London."

Louise grinned and erased the first three letters she wrote of the word transportation. "Perfect. So now we just have the other things to worry about," she concluded.

Dan and Phil exchanged a quick look. Phil nodded. "Right, okay, Zoe," he said, looking over at her, "We think you should lead the mission of talking to… well, whoever it is we get an audience with. Marcus should go too, because he has the advantage of knowing what that person will want to hear," he said.

Marcus and Zoe nodded, then high-fived. Dan grinned and then looked back down at the whiteboard. "As for the break-in team, I think Phil and I should do that. I kind of want to know personally what we're up against," he said.

"There's strength in numbers, Dan," Zoe said worriedly.

"We'll see what happens," he said decidedly.

There were more nods all around. Phil looked at Louise. "How long will it take you to get those counterfeit documents and an audience with an official?" he asked.

Louise pursed her lips as she thought. "It could be weeks. I need to create identities for Zoe and Marcus, and a reason for them to be there, not to mention make the documents look real. Badges and IDs and whatnot," she said.

"That's a lot of down time to let this go on," Alfie said, his expression hard.

Louise opened her mouth to retort but Dan got there first. "It's our only option. And it won't be complete downtime," he said.

"You want to train people?" Chris said, looking excited, "Just in case we do need to fight?"

Dan nodded, a grin growing on his lips. Phil's fingers grazed his for just a moment on the desk. "Exactly."

From then on things started to come together. PJ made the announcement over the PA system that they were going to start training everyone "harder, faster, and more often" (Dan's words). Louise and Zoe also came up with a ranking system; Dan and Phil were at the top, followed by resistance members, and then everyone else. This was merely for the purposes of making sure everyone who actually needed to learn to control their powers got that attention, which was not happening before. Every other thing they were learning, which all turned out to be rubbish anyway, became unneeded.

There was also an option for others to show their prowess with their abilities, in hopes of getting out of the more basic training that was being run by Alfie and Charlie. If one was good enough, they got to train more rigorously for actual missions besides the likes of Caspar or Carrie. But, considering a lot of the residents of the facility were children, they didn't know how to control let alone use their powers. But, the week after their initial planning meeting, they did get someone quite promising.

Dan and Phil were helping with the training of those with natural powers, making sure no walls were blown through or the building uprooted, when Chris came to find them. "Hey, someone wants to try and move up," he said. He had one of PJ's tablets tucked under his arm.

"Who?" Phil asked.

Chris looked at the tablet. "Dodie Clark, her name is. Apparently she's been here longer than any of us, but knew exactly what she was doing before she came," he said.

Dan furrowed his eyebrows. "How do you know that?" he wondered.

"I asked her why she thought she needed to join us. The team, so to speak," Chris replied and started to walk away. Dan and Phil exchanged a look and moved to follow.

"The team?" Dan said.

"Yeah," Chris replied, handing the tablet to Phil, "The proper team, the resistance members. The not-trainees. You suggested looking at us like superheroes. Well, every great group of superheroes had a cool team name. So I'm trying to come up with one that's not stupid like all of Louise's names."

Dan supposed it was a good idea. It was initially his to call them superheroes after all. A team name would make it easier for them to identify themselves, especially if they did stop all the prejudice from the government. "Have any thoughts?" he asked Chris.

He had led them to one of the smaller classrooms, apparently empty. Dan supposed this Dodie Clark didn't have very offensive powers. "Nope. I'll let you know," Chris replied and nodded to the door before walking away. So Dan and Phil went into the room alone, and there was a girl sitting on one of the desks. Her hair was long, nearly down to her waist, and her fringe hung in her eyes. She didn't say anything, but she definitely saw the two boys walk in.

"Hello," said Phil warmly, "Can we help you?"

The girl, Dodie, hopped off the desk. She cleared her throat. "Yes! I'd like to show you what I could do, so I can join the team properly," she said, kind of flat toned as if she had rehearsed.

Dan nodded. "I suppose the team idea is spreading," he said, waving her on, "Go on." He hoped he and Phil weren't intimidating. This had a very audition-like feel to it, and he had been through enough of those to know that they were terrifying.

Dodie nodded and closed her eyes. Dan and Phil didn't look away, and good thing too, because in an instant it appeared as if Dodie was gone. Dan panicked for a moment, then he supposed she could be invisible, but then she was back the next moment. Phil gasped.

"You _shrink_?" Phil said.

So _that's_ where she went. Dodie nodded quickly. "I'm in complete control of it! I can only shrink to about the size of an ant, and I have tried to make myself a bit bigger or a bit smaller, but it just doesn't work. I have full range of motion when I'm small, and I can move and climb really fast," she explained.

"How old are you?" Phil asked her.

Dodie pursed her lips. "Fifteen."

Phil raised his eyebrows, looking impressed. He looked at Dan and shrugged one shoulder. That had come to be the universal sign of it being Dan's decision. He turned to Dodie and held out his hand. "Welcome to the team, Dodie," he said with a smile. She brightened instantly and shook Dan's hand, thanking them profusely.

"All the way on the other side of the facility there's a small back stairwell. All the way at the bottom you'll find the rest of the team. Tell them we sent you in," Phil said. Dodie nodded and headed out of the room- well, more like skipped out of the room.

Dan and Phil soon followed. "Well, that was fun," Dan said, "I hope more people have control like that. We'll need the highest numbers we can get."

"And the spectrum of power people can have is indefinite. We could find all sorts of powers out there," Phil said, grinning excitedly. They turned a corner as Dan was about to reply, but Louise appeared down at the opposite end of the hallway. She gasped and hurried over when she spotted them.

"Thank goodness I found you two! PJ and I have something to show you," she said and waved for them to follow her. She led them to Louise's office and through the hidden door to her computer control room. On the far corner there was a table, but the thing that sat on it seemed a little peculiar and even out of place; a sewing machine and mountains of fabric. PJ sat in a chair beside the table, tapping away on the tablet in his lap.

Dan looked at Louise. "What is all this?"

"We've been developing these for you, and it's time to try out the prototypes," she replied and walked over to the table. She produced a black garment that looked a lot like a scuba suit.

Phil regarded it with speculation. "You made us swimsuits?" he asked, practically reading Dan's thoughts.

Louise gave them both a deadpan look. "No, they're _combat suits._ They're designed with your particular powers in mind using fabric developed by PJ and myself. So you can go on the mission and use your powers without sacrificing any of your clothing," she explained.

"Do they work?" Dan wondered, studying the suit closely.

"That's why you're here, to try them out. Besides fabricating those documents for Zoe and Marcus, I've been making these for the past week and half," she said, looking at the combat suit as if it was her own child.

"Is everyone going to have one?" Phil asked, walking over to run the fabric of the suit between two of his fingers.

"That's the plan," PJ piped up, "But we have to make sure they work first."

Louise pulled the suit away from Phil and thrust it at Dan. "So go change and meet us by the main gym," she instructed, "And I apologize if they're a little too big or small. I guessed on your measurements."

Soon Dan was standing in the center of the main gym wearing the combat suit. Louise had given him a little communication device to wedge in his ear so they could talk while he was in there. He was alone, all the equipment moved out so he could test this suit properly. Louise, PJ, and Phil were all standing in front of the windows looking down at Dan in the gym.

"Can you hear me?" said Louise's voice in his ear.

He knew it was there, but it still made him jump. "Yep," he replied.

"Okay," she continued. She was talking into a microphone in her hand. "So what do you think?"

Dan looked down at himself. The black material felt a little like a basketball, but it wasn't entirely uncomfortable. However, it was a little loose on his body, and the sleeves fell over half his hands. "It's a little too big," he replied.

"I can fix that. Do you feel like you'll overheat wearing it?" Louise said.

Dan supposed he didn't. He often got that feeling with heavy coats and other thermal clothing. The heat always needed somewhere to go, which he was better at knowing now. "No," he replied.

"Brilliant," Louise said, sounding pleased, "Alright, Dan. Light it up and see if the fabric chars or melts in your flames."

Dan closed his eyes and took a breath. Then another. Heat started to pool in his palms, making the air around them shimmer, and he could smell smoke. That was his breath. He opened his eyes and his palms caught fire, and soon it swallowed up both his hands. With more coaxing, the fire licked up his wrists and climbed quickly up his arms. He was so mesmerized by how beautiful and _powerful_ he looked Louise had to shout in his ear. "The fabric, Dan!"

Dan studied his arms beneath the flames. The fabric was not charring, melting, or curling away from the heat. It just sat there as if it weren't on fire at all. "It's fine!" he said brightly. That greatly excited him, and that must have upped his temperature, because the flames on his hands started to flicker blue and white. He could hear Louise's voice in his head again, but he wasn't paying attention. He was _so excited._ He had never been so free to use his abilities before, and it felt liberating and amazing and he wanted to keep doing it. This made him feel like a hero.

And then it was over. A high-pitched alarm sounded over his head before he was doused in water, promptly putting out the flames. Dan caught some water in his palms, as it was probably better to cool off and looked up, squinting. They had a sprinkler system? "Oi!" he shouted.

The sprinklers stopped after a minute, but Dan was still soaked. "Sorry," Louise said, "You weren't listening and it was getting much too hot in there."

Dan stared at up her in the window, hands on his hips. Or he was trying, but his hair was falling into his eyes. PJ took the mic from Louise. "Well done, Dan, that was really cool. And your suit looks completely untouched," he said.

"It is," Dan said, "Looks and feels fine. Aside from being _sopping wet._ "

Louise leaned over to the microphone. "Just come back up and get dried off. It's Phil's turn anyway," she said. Dan sighed and walked over to the door, but once they couldn't see his face anymore he broke into a grin. No matter how much he hated being in the facility at first, he supposed it really did help him learn to control it. He remembered when he would give anything to be someone else, someone "normal", but now he couldn't be happier with being himself.


	12. "There are people to save."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I no not own the DC heroes of Hawk and Dove, whom I loosely based my main characters on.

The piano was slightly out of tune. Dan supposed he shouldn’t complain; it wasn’t that bad and it looked like this room hadn’t been used in ages anyway. It probably hadn’t, considering he never once heard tell of being able to take a music class. The only time it was mentioned was when Jenna showed him around his very day. He was surprised he even found it again.

The piano’s tone had gone flat. It was normal for the strings to loosen over time even if it was practiced on regularly. He told himself not to care, but the sound did hurt Dan’s ears a bit while he played Canon in D. His piano teacher always told him he had perfect pitch and now he really believed her. But on he played anyway. Dan missed music and this piano looked a little sad, having been covered in dust. Besides, just sitting and mindlessly switching in between piano tunes was a good way to get his thoughts in order.

Tomorrow was the day. At least, most likely. Louise informed them all on the top tier that the Prime Minister’s office had gotten back to her, as she had been contacting them under the guise of a software developer coming in to fortify their computers. All they were waiting for now were the forged documents of Marcus and Zoe’s pretend identities. Transportation was ready to go (they decided pretty quickly the bus would be too weird), maps of the labs were downloaded, and comm devices were set up. They even had the combat suits.

The suits. They really excited Dan. Everyone on the team had one now, even Dodie. And Dan’s fit properly; he had tried it on a second time after the sprinkler incident. Not only was that the first time Dan had got to use his powers uninhabited, but Phil as well. And it was a sight to behold.

Once Dan had dried himself off and put his jeans and t-shirt back on, it was Phil’s turn to go into the gym. He stood in the center like Dan had while the latter leaned on a window beside PJ, watching. “Right, Phil, so you’re going to do just what Dan did. Except keep it a little more under control,” PJ said into the microphone.

Phil gave them thumbs up. His suit fit almost perfectly and didn’t cover half his hand. “Okay!”

“For the record, I was completely in control,” Dan added indignantly.

“Just not listening,” Louise grumbled.

Dan shrugged and then shifted his focus back into the sunken gym, looking down at Phil. He seemed to do exactly what Dan did; close his eyes and breathe. Phil turned his palms up, and fog started to roll off of his hands and spill out towards the floor. Soon, the cement around Phil’s feet started to ice over, probably helped by the water left over from the sprinklers.

“Temperature dropping,” PJ said, his eyes darting from his tablet to the gym.

Then almost everything started to coat over with frost. Dan and PJ eventually had to wipe away the fogged up windows with their sleeves, and what they saw inside made Dan nearly stop breathing. Phil looked _amazing._ He stood in the center of the room completely in awe, looking around at what he was capable of doing. He was obviously in his element and was really excited about it, just like Dan had been. He walked over to a wall and touched it with his fingers. A ribbon of ice spread out from the tips.

“How does the fabric feel, Phil?” Louise prompted.

“Great. It hasn’t reacted at all to the cold,” he replied, dragging his fingers across the wall and leaving a trail of more ice ribbons. Dan was really glad he got to witness Phil let loose like this. It was like seeing something very intimate. He knew Phil, better than anyone at this point, but there was a difference when they were allowed to be who they are. Dan wished he could see _this_ Phil a little more often.

He felt like it was over too quickly. “Alright, Phil, warm up a bit. You’re approaching dangerously cold temperatures. Well, dangerous for your surroundings,” PJ said. Phil pouted for a moment and nodded anyway. PJ and Louise deliberated while they waited, and soon Phil appeared around the corner with the combat suit over his arm.

PJ walked over and took it from him. “Well done, Phil. Although it may take a while to thaw out that gym,” he said.

Phil smiled and shrugged, but Dan could see how Phil remained a distance away and didn’t make any contact with PJ’s skin. His temperature wasn’t climbing fast enough. Dan nonchalantly walked over while PJ headed back towards Louise. Phil lit up and reached for Dan, but once their hands connected they didn’t stop. Warm hands ghosted over cold skin all the way to the elbow. Dan could feel the temperature start to rise.

“Better?” he asked quietly.

“Much,” Phil replied after a deep breath. Dan looked up and met his eyes, and their gaze remained trained on each other for much longer than it had in the past.

Louise paused while she walked by, looking at the pair. “Hey, you didn’t steam,” she said. Dan and Phil broke away for a moment to look at her, and then back at each other, sharing identical looks of surprise. Neither of them had noticed. “Progress,” she added, looking quite smug before walking away.

Dan hit a wrong note, which made him cringe out of his reverie. Even at that point, added to all the excitement from the combat suits, he was looking forward to infiltrating the MI5 labs. But now that he had had time to think about it, he was actually terrified. What if their plan went wrong? So many things could happen and become problems; triggering an alarm, Zoe or Marcus getting recognized, and anything of that sort really. It gave Dan serious anxiety thinking about it. So here he was, at the piano, trying not to think about it.

Then someone knocked on the door. It was already open, and soon Carrie peeked her head in. “I thought I heard a piano,” she said.

Dan shrugged. “Yeah. It’s helping to clear my head,” he said.

“May I?” Carrie asked, gesturing to the piano bench. Dan shifted to one end and Carrie sat beside him. She reached over and played a few notes, which he recognized as the melody of ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’. He looked over and gave her a little smile, and she smiled back and joined in singing, “Way up high,” very quietly. Then her expression grew sour. “I think this piano is out of tune,” she added.

“It is,” Dan said with a nod, “And your voice is very pretty.”

Carrie smiled and looked down at her lap, folding her hands on top of her skirt. She often wore skirts and dresses; Dan didn’t understand how she went to training in them. “Thanks. Singing was actually part of me originally learning to control my power, you know. I couldn’t talk at all without hurting people’s ears. Jenna was the one who came up with the idea to have me practice singing -behind shatterproof glass of course- to try and play with the sound waves. And it worked. Obviously.”

“That’s actually brilliant. Singing is just an extension of speech. If you can control it while singing, then just talking is easy,” Dan said.

“Exactly. So even though all that time we were technically doing nothing, some of us still got a better quality of life,” Carrie said and sighed, “I just want to tell you, Dan, that I believe in you. And Phil, too. I know the two of you are breaking in to save people and that’s really admirable.”

Dan smiled a little and looked down at the keys. “Thanks. I have confidence in us, but that’s not stopping me from freaking out,” he said.

Carrie reached over and put her hand over Dan’s, giving it a squeeze. “It’ll be okay. I think we all agree around here that you were meant to save people’s lives.”

Even so, before he was ready, Dan was standing at the front of the facility (where he had never been before) while Louise wedged a comm device in his ear. Phil already had his in, and was standing near the dirt road with Zoe and Marcus, adjusting his disguise. Both boys were wearing full suits trying to pass as security guards. Dan was pulling farther and farther away from her, and Louise kept grabbing his shoulder and yanking him back. “Lou, Lou I can do it!” he said, finally swatting her hand away.

Louise huffed. “I just want everything to go according to plan. And that means you need to be able to hear me at all times,” she said.

While Dan adjusted the tiny device in his ear, Phil inspected the new piping on his combat suit, and then Dan’s as well. If they pulled up their shirtsleeves, it was just visible. The suits were identical, except the piping on Phil’s was blue and Dan’s was orange. “What is the purpose of this?” he asked Louise, showing her his wrist and pointing to the accent.

“Oh! I nearly forgot,” said Louise, “I added tubes to both of your suits that are filled with liquid. Dan’s is coolant, _just in case_ you ever get too hot. Phil’s has cellulose and carbon that will react and warm up when exposed to oxygen, sort of like a hand warmer. Just break the tubes and they’ll work almost instantly.” She took Dan’s shoulder and moved him so that the group could see. She pointed to a small spot there. “Here is a tracking device. Each of you has one. I put them in-”

“ _Just in case,_ ” Dan and Phil teased in unison.

Louise narrowed her eyes at them. “Well. You can never be too prepared!” she defended.

“Okay,” PJ said pointedly, “Marcus is going to drive you into the city. He and Zoe are meeting with Ronald Edwards, a tech rep from the prime minister’s office. Zoe’s going to plug in this flash drive-” he paused and held it up in his hand, “-into a computer. It will shut down the system, including the computerized alarms, but only for a few minutes. Less than ten, probably. That will be Dan and Phil’s chance to get into the labs undetected. From there, Louise will tell you what to do. But your main objective is to plug in this drive-” he produced a second flash drive, this one on a lanyard, “-into a computer in the lab. The virus in it will delete all the data on mutant experiments and the enzyme. So there will be no more making it.”

There were nods all around. The front double doors swung open and then Dodie rushed out to join them. She wore a suit similar to the boys, but her piping was white, and she was zipping up a black hoodie over it. And she looked pale. “What are you doing here?” PJ asked her.

“I asked her to join the mission,” Phil piped up, “She could be very useful. She can shrink small enough to crawl under doors and such.”

Louise groaned. “Dammit, Phil, now she needs a comm too! You needed to leave like two minutes ago,” she said.

“She can have mine, I can just listen through Zoe’s head,” Marcus interjected, reaching into his ear and pulling out the little device. He handed it Dodie, and Dan watched her anxiously fix it into her ear. Dodie was young and _new_. He wasn’t sure bringing her on their first and _very important_ mission was a good idea. But he wasn’t about to kick her out now. Even if she did look like she was going to be sick.

PJ presented Zoe with one of his tablets and her flash drive, and dropped a pair of keys in Marcus’s hand. “Not a scratch,” he warned. He and Louise had fixed up a BMW from the junkyard. It almost looked gently used. If Dan was into cars he also probably would have been possessive over it. The second flash drive was handed to Phil and he put it around his neck under his button up.

“Right,” Louise said, bouncing on the balls of her feet, “Of you go, then. Good luck. We’ll be ready as soon as you get there. Don’t die.”

Zoe pursed her lips. “Excellent, thanks,” she muttered. If it were possible, Dodie got even paler. Dan swallowed and walked over to the car. He got there soon enough to sit by the window, and Phil ended up in the center. Good thing Dodie was so small, or there would be no room to breathe in the back seat. Still, Dan’s knee jiggled nervously. Some time into the ride Phil reached over and stilled it, giving Dan a look. He gave him a sheepish smile back, then boldly reached up and laced his fingers with Phil’s. Phil smiled back and didn’t make any moved to let go.

Just like weeks ago, it still took hours to drive to London. When they were almost there, Zoe turned around in her seat. “Right, let’s go over the plan. And catch up Dodie,” she said, “So we’re going to walk into the reception area and we’ll give the receptionist our names. You guys, our bodyguards, will be asked to wait in the lobby and instead we’ll tell you to just wait in the car. That’s when you go outside, Louise will tell you where the lab entrance is, and then you wait until she says go. Everyone set?”

Dan and Phil nodded and then looked over at Dodie. She cleared her throat and looked down at her attire, which was not much of a disguise compared to the boys. “Maybe I should just stay outside to begin with,” she muttered, playing with the end of her ponytail.

“That’s probably best,” Zoe said, smiling warmly. She made eye contact with Dan and her expression fell a little, mirroring Dan’s nervousness. He tried to look strong, nodding as if he knew exactly what he was doing.

He didn’t, spoiler alert.

Marcus pulled the car into the driveway and flashed his forged pass at the guard. Looking bored, the guard pressed a button and lifted the gate to let them in. “Phase one, complete!” Phil stated, no doubt trying to lighten the mood. When Marcus found a parking spot, all five of them were quiet as they walked from the parking lot to the front of the Thames Building. Dan’s heart started to flutter nervously as they left Dodie to sit on the stairs, and then passed under the large archway and into the reception area. He tried his best to look indifferent and imposing like he supposed a bodyguard should look like.

Marcus and Zoe stood in the front as they approached the desk. “Excuse me” Zoe said, “We have an appointment with Ronald Edwards.”

The receptionist took a moment to move his glare between all four of them. Perhaps he could detect that they all looked a little too young for this. But it was official; he couldn’t question it. Right? “Names?” he said.

“I’m Barbara Prince,” Zoe said breezily. Dan caught Marcus sneak a peek at his nametag.

“And I’m Bruce Queen,” he said.

Phil looked over at Dan, raising a brow. He knew he was asking who picked those names because they were _crap._ Dan shrugged a shoulder. Louise must have just googled searched for random names.

The receptionist’s fingers tapped over his keyboard. “Right. Mr. Edwards should be right out to meet you,” he said. He eyed Dan and Phil behind them. “However, those two will not be permitted to join. It only says your names on the file, they will have to wait in the lobby,” he added.

Marcus nodded once. “That’s fine, they’re just here because of protocol anyway,” he said, his tone light as if her were joking.

As expected, Zoe turned to look over her shoulder at them. “Why don’t you just wait in the car after all? I’m sure we won’t be long,” she said.

Dan and Phil both nodded and turned to leave the hall. They managed to stay in character until they got down the steps and saw Dodie. She sprung to her feet and Dan pressed a finger into his earpiece. “Alright, Louise, they’re in. Tell us where to go,” he said as they walked down the stairs as a group.

“Perfect,” Louise said, “You’re going to take a left and walk the entire length of the building. Try not to look suspicious. It’s a bit of a walk so be prepared.”

Dan took a breath and nodded his head at the others. In accordance to Louise’s directions, he turned to the left. Phil and Dodie were only a few steps behind. When they reached the corner of the building Phil asked Louise what was next.

There was a pause before she spoke. “Alright, now you want to go down the alley adjacent to the building,” The three of them started moving while Louise continued. “Towards the middle is a metal door with a card scanner beside it.” They paused outside it. It didn’t look all that imposing. “Once Zoe plugs the flash drive into the system I’ll be able to open it from here. From there you’ll have to follow my instructions to a T to find the right lab,” Louise finished, “Oh, and leave your disguises in a dumpster. They’re knock-offs anyway.”

Both boys shed their suit jackets right away. “Right. What if there are scientists in there?” Phil said.

“There won’t be,” she said, “Today they’re all out, distributing the enzyme and finding more mutants. But other labs will be occupied, so that’s why it is _imperative_ that you listen carefully.”

Dan got to work on the buttons of his shirt. “When will we know when the door is unlocked?” he asked. Dodie stood on her toes to toss her black hoodie into the dumpster with a sour expression.

“The little red light on the scanner will turn green. It might take a few seconds,” Louise said.

Dan finally rid himself of his trousers and tossed them into the pile he made on the ground before picking them up. He and Phil both dropped their piles into the dumpster and turned to each other. They looked nearly identical in their combat suits and matching haircuts. “Those were nice, I hope we can get them back afterwards,” Phil said.

“I’ll make a mental note,” teased Dan, which earned him a soft punch in the arm. He turned to Dodie, who was bouncing on the balls of her feet. “You alright there?” he asked.

She took a visible deep breath, her chest heaving, and nodded. “Yeah. Just… jittery, you know? But I’m ready,” she promised.

Phil nodded once. “I believe-”

The light on the card scanner turned green. “Door’s open, go!” Louise shouted in their ears. Dodie wasted no time, which was good as she was closest, and rushed over to pull the door open. Dan and Phil filed in and she closed the door behind them. They were all quiet as they waited for Louise’s instructions. Dan quickly took in their surroundings. A hallway made of concrete, dimly lit. It wasn’t all that impressive. There was a camera behind them in the corner. Dan waved at it.

“Not the time, Daniel,” Louise barked. Phil gave him a look and he shrugged. She continued. “Right, so you need to head down the corridor until you find an orange door. That’ll be the stairwell down to the labs.” Phil was already jogging down the corridor as Louise spoke. Dan brought up the rear of their little team and looked over his shoulder nervously, fearing at any moment someone would find them. They raced down the stairs and Phil nearly tripped at the bottom, but he easily pushed open the door that opened into a stark white hallway. It reminded Dan a lot of the lowest levels of The School as well.

“And now?” Dan said, his voice echoed even though he was practically whispering.

Louise continued. “Near the very end of the hall you’ll find the research labs. Two doors in, I believe. I’m working on getting the door open right now, turns out they have a fingerprint scanner on there now. Is the hallway completely open until the end? No doors?”

They walked down the corridor. Dan’s toe caught on something on the floor, and he noticed it was a receiver for a deadbolt lock there. “No doors. But we found out that they’re here… somewhere,” he said.

“The ceiling,” Louise supplied and all three of them looked up, “They’ve been in place since I worked there. They’re another security measure; they come down as a very last resort. Now, keep going! You have six minutes before the camera system resets!”

“Well, shit,” Dan mumbled and took off with the others down the corridor, “Is the door open, Louise?”

“Working on it.”

Dan impatiently tapped his fingers on the wall. Suddenly Dodie was gone, shrinking down to almost too small to see properly. In the next few seconds the door was open, a full sized Dodie standing behind it and smiling proudly.

The boys stared a moment. “Well done,” they said in unison.

Dan didn’t know what he was expecting before he saw it. Maybe Dr. Frankenstein’s lab out of the Frankenstein movie from 1931. This was nothing like that; it was more like a university laboratory. Phil was the first one to step into the room and look around. “I’m plugging this drive into any computer?” he said, looking at the flash drive on the lanyard around his neck.

PJ answered for the first time since they left. “Yes. Be quick about it, we’re running out of time,” he said. Phil nodded and took a moment to locate a computer in the corner of the room. He jogged over to it and leaned over to turn it on. “In the meantime, Dan and Dodie, you need to destroy all traces of the enzyme that’s already there.”

“Right, okay. Destroy,” Dan echoed, looking around. He approached a cabinet and pulled it open. The beakers were empty. He heard Dodie going through other cabinets on the other side of the room. There were three walls of them. The next cabinet, and the next as well only had empty containers or unused tools. What if the research wasn’t in this lab? What if they were _wrong?_

“Four minutes,” said Louise in their ears.

Dan slammed a cabinet shut. “Fuck,” he hissed, “How are we doing, Dove?” This was a good place to use the codenames, as Louise had previously pointed out. _Just in case_ someone was watching or listening, they wouldn’t have any definite indication of their identities. It just occurred to him that Dodie didn’t have one.

“It’s working. Well, at least I think so,” Phil replied, “Code screens are moving by really fast and disappearing at the bottom.”

“That means it’s working,” PJ added, which gave Dan a little piece of mind. Which was something he needed, because another wall of cabinets proved to be empty.

And then, “Hawk!” Dan spun around to try and see Dodie, but she wasn’t there. He made eye contact with Phil, and he nodded to his left. Dan jogged over and peeked around a row of kilns. There was Dodie, standing in front of a door that neither of the other two would have noticed.

Dan pressed a finger to his ear, which he didn’t need to do now, but it sure looked cool. “Louise, there’s a door in here. Where does it go?”

A pause. “It’s not on this map.”

Dodie tried the handle. “It’s locked,” she said. Dan approached and also tried the handle, then tried to shoulder it open.

“It’s not going to budge,” Dan said, stepping back, “We need to get in there.”

“Dan, you’re running out of time,” Louise said quickly.

Dan thought quickly on his feet. “Doesn’t matter. If this is the only mutant research lab, then there must be people behind this door. They need help. And we have to destroy the stores of the enzyme, which was the mission, right?” he said.

“You’ll set off the alarm!” PJ argued.

Dodie tapped Dan’s shoulder and held up her hand. Then she shrunk down, and Dan assumed she was going to try and get under the door again. Moments later, however, she was back. “It’s air tight,” she said, frowning.

Phil walked over then, placing his hand on Dan’s shoulder for a moment, pulling him backwards ever so slightly. “I got it,” he said. The others, confused, took a few steps back. Phil squared his shoulders and wrapped both his hands around the handle. Soon fog started to fall from Phil’s hands and dissipate on the floor, and when he pulled them away the knob was encased in ice. Then Phil reared back and brought his elbow down hard on the doorknob. Dan and Dodie winced at the loud sound of ice breaking and metal clanging to the ground, but then the door was ajar.

Dan stared at him. “That was amazing-,” he said before a blaring alarm started to echo through the room. They were detected, they were toast. Might as well do what they can now. Phil was holding his elbow, grimacing, but when he met Dan’s eye he nodded once. With the opposite shoulder he pushed the door all the way open.

The room was gruesome. And once again, dimly lit. This was obviously where they performed the experiments. There was a table with straps on it, machinery lining the walls, and a mirror on another. It must have been two-way. There was a row of… tanks, Dan supposed, on the other end. There were six, and three of them had people occupying them. They were all asleep, and there was one woman, a teenage boy around their age, and just as Dan was afraid of happening: a kid. He might have been twelve. “Come on,” he said to Phil and Dodie, approaching the tanks.

“The enzyme,” Phil said, pointing to the corner of the room. There was a stack of palettes with tiny bottles of clear liquid in them.

As Phil and Dodie tried to force open a tank, Dan took on the enzyme bottles. The alarm still blared, but it was so constant now he doubted any of them noticed. What could he do in ten seconds to get rid of them all? Well, there was no point in being quiet now; security would be on them at any second now. So, Dan did the only thing he could think of. He wedged himself between the stack and the wall and pushed.

It all crashed to the floor, the vials spilling all over. “Dan!” It was Louise, screaming in his ear. He hadn’t been hearing her over the alarm. “You have to cook the liquid, they can still salvage it from the floor. Change the molecular structure,” she said.

“You got it,” Dan muttered and dropped to his knees beside the puddle, then braced himself. He placed his hands in the growing puddle of serum and closed his eyes. The liquid started to bubble and smoke around his hands, and even change in color. The darkening color spread throughout the puddle, but not fast enough.

“Don’t breath the gas, it’s chloroform!” Louise shouted. Confused, Dan looked over at Phil and Dodie. They had opened two of the tanks, which had broken a strange tube at the top. That’s how the scientists were keeping people asleep, by pumping them with chloroform gas.

That was _lethal._ In large doses, anyway.

Frustration taking over, Dan finished his job of destroying the enzyme. Now the whole puddle was a murky brown color as opposed to clear. He figured that was enough to ruin it. He stood and rushed over to Phil and Dodie. Phil had the woman, who was completely unconscious, in his arms with her head resting on his shoulder. Dodie was gently patting the face of the boy, trying to get him to wake up faster. The boy stumbled into her, but he seemed okay otherwise. The third tank was still closed with the male in it.

“We need to leave and get these people out of here,” Phil said.

“What do we do?” Dodie said, putting her arm over the boy’s shoulder when he threatened to topple over.

“Zoe and Marcus are getting the car. Five minutes until they’re in front of the building,” Louise said, “I have _no idea_ how long I can scramble the security system. This is the only way to keep you guys from being sealed in there forever, and to keep the guards away.”

Dan took the edge of the third tank door and pulled, using all his body weight. It screeched in protest, but he managed to get it open. Both Phil and Dodie each had their mouths open in shock while Dan helped the man out of the tank. Thankfully he was awake and coughing.

“Not… again,” he rasped.

Dan’s heart lurched. “Hey, hey man, it’s going to be okay. We’re busting you out,” he told him, “What’s your name?”

He coughed again. “Jack.”

“Jack. I’m Dan,” he said, “My friends and I are going to help. But you need to walk, alright? We have to hurry.”

Phil nodded towards the door and started to run. Dan and Dodie followed as quickly as they could with their struggling captives. Jack was coughing more and more as they rushed through the lab and to the hallway, and Dan felt horrible for making him move so quickly but they didn’t have a choice.

“Guys!” Louise shrieked in their ears, “The security doors are closing, I can’t stop them! There must be a backup of some sort.”

The first door banged shut near the end of the hall. “Fuck,” Dan hissed again and looked at his companions, “Let’s go, we need to move!”

As they ran the doors shut periodically until it was right on their heels. Phil and Dodie were ahead and about to clear the last one. Dan couldn’t… no. _Jack_ couldn’t get stuck here. Dan could take care of himself. With a burst of strength, Dan lifted Jack off his feet and ran forward, shouting “Phil!”

Phil turned and sized up the situation. He placed the woman down rather roughly on the floor near the exit and hurried back towards Dan. Something clicked above Dan’s head and he quickly shoved Jack towards Phil, over the deadbolt. Surprised, Phil caught him, but then looked wildly at his friend. He opened his mouth to say something when the door dropped and slammed shut between them.

As soon as it happened, Dan’s heart plummeted. There was no window in the door. There was no way to open it. He was alone. Not a second after it closed he could hear Phil banging on it. “Dan! Dan, I’m going to get you out!” he shouted.

“You need to get to the car!” Dan argued back, “You have a mission to finish.”

“I’m not leaving without you!”

His eyes started to sting with tears, mostly from fear of the unknown. “You have to go, there are people to save!” he stated firmly.

“We’re going to get you out, Dan, don’t freak out,” PJ said. Too late. “The rest of you need to listen to him, get out of there-”

“Dammit, I’m not leaving Dan here alone!” Phil argued on the other side of the door.

Dan suddenly heard a faint hissing noise coming from somewhere. He spun wildly around, looking for the source, but there was nothing to see. Nothing to smell either. He started to feel lightheaded. It was gas; they were gassing him. “I’m going to pass out,” he said, his voice shaky.

“Smash your comm. Now,” PJ said, resigned.

He knocked it out of his ear and crunched it under his foot just as Phil understood what was happening. He started to bang on the door again, pleading with Dan to hold on and just yelling his name over and over mixed with ‘no’. Dan’s eyelids suddenly became too heavy and he closed his eyes just as his legs couldn’t hold him up anymore. He didn’t know if Phil, Dodie, and the others got out okay before the chloroform knocked out his senses and he passed out.


	13. "Hello, Satan."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the DC heroes of Hawk and Dove, whom I loosely based my main characters on.

Dan's head felt heavy. His eyelids were even heavier, but he managed to get them open just a bit. He could see through his heavy lids that there was a person in front of him, and their touch was light over his body. "Phil?"

When their eyes lifted, they were blue and icy and definitely Phil. Dan's heart started to hammer. "Well, hi there," said Phil, his hands ghosting down from Dan's temples to his neck, "I thought you would never wake up."

Goosebumps exploded all over Dan's flesh. He _never_ got goosebumps; his body temperature never fluctuated. Phil's hands felt warm to the touch, just like it was anyone else touching him, instead of cool like usual. And for some reason, Dan couldn't reach up and touch him too. He wanted to, especially when Phil's fingers wandered down his arms. "What… what happened?" Dan whispered. He still couldn't get his eyes all the way open.

Before Phil replied there was a pinching sensation in the crook of his elbow. Dan gasped, and his eyes shot open, and everything came into focus. He was in a lab. He couldn't reach up and touch Phil because he was strapped down. And the person touching him wasn't Phil at all; in fact it was a woman. The pinching sensation was her sticking a needle into his vein. She didn't even look anything like Phil, save for the glasses. Her hair was brown and her eyes were brown. Another quick body check of him found that she wasn't just touching him for the sake of touching. He had things taped to him: one on each temple and either side of his throat.

"I'm sorry," the woman whispered as she walked around to his other side, "This will hurt too." Then she stuck another needle in his other arm and Dan grimaced, sucking air in through his teeth. She looked up at him with an apologetic look and suddenly a loud sound boomed in the room, as if someone was tapping a microphone. The woman cringed.

"Don't be so easy on him, Dr. Bisognin," said a disembodied voice. Wait, Dan recognized that voice. "We probably won't end up keeping this one. He's already got his powers."

Dr. Bisognin nodded once and walked around behind Dan's head. He couldn't bend enough to see what was going on, but it wasn't hard to assess the situation. He got trapped and gassed, and this was the result. Now _he_ was the lab rat, and that wasn't even the worse thing. The worse thing was that he had no idea what happened to Phil and the others. Well, he supposed it was a good thing that besides the scientist, he was alone in this room. It was very similar to the one they rescued those people from.

The machinery behind Dan's head started to whir. Something else started to drip, and Dan assumed one of the catheters in his arms was an IV. The question of what the thing dripping is that worried him the most.

"Tilt him up, doctor. Hawk and I need to have a chat," said the voice again. Dan's heart lurched uncomfortably and a machine started to beep louder. A heart monitor. Soon Dan's table began to tilt up so he could see himself in a mirror across from him. Dr. Bisognin rounded him and disappeared into an open door in the corner of the room. The mirror blinked, like a phone screen, and it wasn't a mirror at all. It was a window.

Dan narrowed his eyes. There were two men in the room behind the window: one in a black suit, and Prime Minister Page. That's why Dan recognized the voice. It basically was the bane of his existence. Dr. Bisognin stood to the far right, looking worriedly between Dan and Page.

"Hello, Hawk," he said with a tiny grin.

Dan trained his expression and deadpanned back, "Hello, Satan."

Page chuckled. "Glad to see you're not out of it anymore," he said, "These procedures aren't very useful if you're not conscious."

"What the _actual fuck_ is happening here?" Dan said, having to get all his emotions out in his facial expression, as he couldn't use his hands for emphasis.

Page picked up something in his hand, and it was a clipboard. "As soon as the alarm went off, we knew you were here. We would have caught all of you if someone hadn't been scrambling the system at the same time. Clever, your little team was. But, we still got the camera recordings of your break-in. And, let's see. Well, since you depleted our stores of the mutant enzyme, deleted our data, and released our test subjects, we have to start from scratch," he said, "Glad we nabbed you. Even though this will only cover one half of our research. Your powers are obviously well developed-"

"What are you even talking about?" Dan interrupted loudly. He felt a swell of pride when Page mentioned all the things his team accomplished, and that made him think that they did get away. He didn't know how long ago all that was, but he hoped by now they were figuring out a way to get Dan back. Because so far this was not going well for him.

The prime minister sighed. "You're aware that the enzyme reacts with mutant blood. We used it for just that reason, to find them, and then we picked a few from a lineup to use for the tests. Usually we pick ones who are unaware of their abilities, or haven't gotten a grasp on them yet. The tests make their mutations apparent enough to study. You probably want to know what the tests are?" he asked Dan. Dan didn't reply, so he simply gestured to Dr. Bisognin. "Tell him," he said.

She cleared her throat. "The tests include watching subject's reactions to different stages of stress and seeing if their mutation adapts at all to relieve said stress. Blood is also drawn so the mutated gene can be carefully studied," she said. That was the most Dan had heard her talk, and she had a lilted accent. Spanish?

"Why do you study the mutations?" Dan asked.

The doctor glanced at Page and he gave a nod. "Might as well tell him. Like I said, we're not keeping him," he said.

She continued. "We are trying to emulate the mutated gene," she said quietly, as if ashamed of the information, "And by increasing the stress in each consecutive test, we are hopeful that mutations will further change and result in evolution."

Dan stared at her. "Evolution? You're… torturing people to try and make them mutate further," he said, talking out loud to get his thoughts together. Without Phil, he had no one to bounce his ideas off of and help him fill in the blanks. "And replicating mutated genes… why?"

Page simply reached his hand over, in front of the doctor, and pressed a button. Without warning a shock shot through the electrodes on Dan's neck and temples, making his entire body feel on fire and _not_ in the good way. A cry escaped his mouth and he tried to cringe away from the shock, but there was nowhere to go. Without his prompting or focus, flames lit in Dan's palms and swallowed his hands. The next second the shock was gone and so was the fire, only a puff of flame remained for a split second. When it was over, Dan stared at his hands as if he'd never seen them before. That was something no one should ever be forced to feel: their own body betraying them.

" _That's_ why," Page continued, a grin on his face that could be described as almost mad, "With just a simple electric shock combined with a little IV drip of saline solution, your power manifests without you having to even think about it. Britain would be the most powerful nation in the world if we could use that, even more so than America. They treat their mutants like _heroes_ who can do as they wish _._ They're missing out on the bigger picture. These discoveries are breakthroughs that only we have the ability to make."

Dan was breathing hard, the shock still wearing off even though it was only on for less than a minute. "You want to _weaponize_ us?" he said breathlessly.

"No, not _you,"_ Page said, rolling his eyes, "You and yours are just the first generation, the guinea pigs. Your powers are obviously already under control. We want to weaponize your genes. By taking your mutations and injecting them into people like our Agent Chapman here," he pointed behind him at the man in the suit, "Combined with the stress, the mutated genes and the genes of the subject will fuse to create, well, a test tube mutant. Like super soldiers. Imagine an entire army of them! We would be unstoppable."

So there were four things that Dan was sure of now. One, they weren't just capturing mutants because they were afraid of them. They were capturing them to take their blood and see how they react to different levels of stress. Two, that was _human experimentation_. They were injecting mutated blood into trained MI5 agents and torturing them until their bodies were forced to adapt to handle the stress. Three, this was all very, very illegal. Four, Prime Minister Page seriously believed that all of this was for the better of science, for the better of the country.

"You keep saying that you're not keeping me," Dan prompted, "What does that mean?"

Page looked at Dr. Bisognin. She swallowed. "Often the test subjects do not survive the tests as they get harder," she said in a small voice.

Dan's anger flared. They _were_ killing mutants. Louise had been right; she was nowhere near protecting them all. He wondered how close to death those three he got out last night were. Thinking about that kid strapped to a table like he was made Dan sick.

"Let's get on with it, shall we? Start the recording, " Page prompted. The doctor pressed another button before her and a red light appeared in their observation room. "Subject: Daniel James Howell, nineteen-years-old. Mutations include production of fire, unnaturally high body temperature, and resistance to heat. Administering shock test number one and drawing first blood sample," he continued.

Dan didn't know how long this shock lasted. It felt as though the electrodes were burning his skin, which was a terrible feeling because he had never been burned before. This time, however, he was at least a little prepared and did his best to keep his own heat from mingling with that of the shock. It worked for a bit; there were no flames, but it got so hot that the air shimmered like he was sitting on a blacktop in the summertime.

When the shock ended, Dan could breath again. He hadn't noticed that he had been alternating between trying to take a deep breath and, well, screaming. Dan's right arm ached. That must have been the one they took blood from, which he hadn't had enough brainpower to notice through the shock. When Dan's eyes focused, Page looked annoyed. Agent Chapman, the man in the suit, was standing closer to him now. His head was bent inward, his face turned away from Dan, but from Page's expression they were chatting about something important.

"Chapman has pointed out the opportunity to garner information from you, Hawk," said the prime minister, "You are proof that someone out there is intercepting mutants before we can get to them and then training them up. Who is it?" Dan remained silent, his expression hard. Did this bloke actually think Dan was going to tell him anything? If he did, he was really barmy. "Alright, then, I thought it was going to go this way. Let's sweeten the deal. If you talk, no more tests will be performed on you," Page continued.

Dan gave him a look. "If you think I've done any of this for the benefit of _myself_ , than you're mad," he hissed.

Chuckling, the prime minister shook his head. "Oh, of course. The essence of heroism, giving up your own life for someone else's. You're much too noble, Hawk. The suit, the name, the team. You're basically straight out of a comic book," he said, "Fine. Then you'll be subject to more tests, which is no skin off my back. We might even get more data from you yet. Maybe this will give you an incentive. We collected some information while you were asleep, you know. Dr. Bisognin, who else do we have a file on?"

She cleared her throat, as if surprised to be called upon. "Dodie Clark and Philip Lester, sir," she replied.

At the mention of Phil's name, Dan's heart quickened and he struggled against his restraints. If only Dan could get his hands around his neck, Page would wish he were never born. "Ah, there it is," he said venomously, "The Dove to your Hawk, yes? The one with the ice powers. Well, your boyfriend should be more careful, his fingerprints were all over the lab you managed to break into. The girl's too. You were smart enough to smash the only thing we could use to track your origin, but not smart enough to wear gloves? Amateurs."

So that must be why he was asked to smash the comm. Well then, technically it was PJ who was smart enough. But it was a good thing he was, because then everyone would have been screwed. "What does he have to do with anything?" Dan demanded.

Page cleared his throat. "Phillip Michael Lester, born in Rawtenstall, Lancashire on the 30th of January. Parents still live in the same spot," he said after he flipped a page on his clipboard, "If you don't talk, and we find him, he will suffer a much worse fate than you."

Dan clenched his jaw. His fists followed suit. No one would want him to talk. Phil would sacrifice himself for the sake of everyone on the team in a heartbeat. "I'm not talking. And you won't find him," he growled.

Looking positively irritated, Page stepped away from his controls. The red light turned off and Dan watched as he walked closed to Dr. Bisognin. He said something to her, and she looked horrified for a few moments before she replied. By the looks of it, Page wasn't very impressed by her answer, because he looked more annoyed still as he spoke. The doctor looked down, visibly swallowed, and then nodded. She walked around the prime minister and back into the room to join Dan. She passed his table and picked up something from behind him –something metal, it sounded like- and then came back to stand in front of him. He looked down and saw that a tank and a gas mask were in her hands. He grimaced and started to pull on his restraints, hoping that any sort of resistance would get him out or do _something_.

Dr. Bisognin gave him a resigned look and turned the dial on the top of the tank, then put the mask over Dan's mouth and nose. He held his breath for as long as he could, but even if he passed out he would start breathing again, so once his lungs burned from lack of air he was forced to take a gulp of the gas. Within moments, he was unconscious again.

The next time Dan opened his eyes he was laying down again. However this time he wasn't restrained, and he was in one of those tanks like the ones they got Jack and the others out of. He opened it all by himself last time… he pushed on the lid. It didn't budge, and the effort made him dizzy. He was definitely nowhere near full strength. How much blood did they take? Through the red tint of the glass, Prime Minister Page and the doctor were standing in the room. Wires and tubes led from the bottom of Dan's tank to a machine that stood between them. Dan's breath shuttered, and Page looked over when he noticed that Dan was awake.

"Ah, welcome back," he said in a teasing tone.

"If you keep gassing me," Dan said breathlessly, "I'm going to go brain dead."

Page shrugged. "We've no doubt killed some brain cells already. No matter, this will work even if you couldn't remember your own name," he said. He put his hand on top of the machine. "This machine is hooked up to the air system in your tank. This test is one of the harder ones, which we figured would give us more data, as you're already so experienced with your mutation. The test is simple. Tell me, Hawk, what does fire need to thrive?"

"Something to burn," he replied testily.

Page tsked. "Wrong. It needs oxygen. By depleting the oxygen in your tank, little by little, we're hoping for one of two things. One, your mutation takes over and evolves so that you won't need oxygen and you'll survive. Then, your blood sample will be highly valuable, and you deny everything, forget the laws of physics," he said, "Second option, you die. You'll be out of my hair forever. I don't know which option I like more."

Dan could hardly believe it. Was this guy human? He didn't think of Dan as anymore than bacteria in a petri dish. Or maybe a lab rat, like the others. Also… Dan had the distinct feeling that he might die today. Page waved his hand at Dr. Bisognin. Without looking at Dan, she flipped a couple switches on the machine. The prime minister waved teasingly and walked out of the room. The doctor stayed; she probably had to take notes.

And it was all quite terrifying after that. Of the things Page said, it was true that fire needed oxygen. As his breath became more labored in his struggles to get air, it was like Dan could _feel_ his temperature dropping. But that might have been his brain playing tricks on him while it was in the process of suffocating. These people thought of Dan and other mutants as a completely different species all together, when in reality they were just _mutated humans._ And humans needed oxygen whether they had fire powers or not.

Soon, when there was absolutely no oxygen left and Dan was hopelessly sucking in nothing, the tunnel vision started. He slumped forward, his forehead pressing against the glass as he slowly started to become numb. Then his eyes closed and everything was gone, but it only felt that way for a second. It was seemingly the next instant when the door to his tank was opening. Dan's body came back to life almost instantly, heat and all, as he sucked in a huge gulp of air and came up coughing. He spilled out of the tank and right onto someone.

It was a woman, and she was speaking very quickly in a language Dan didn't understand. Was he just out of it? No, it was definitely a different language, because a male voice replied in the same one. Then, in English, "Is he awake?"

Dan felt some gentle tapping against his cheek. He took another breath to try and find the energy to open his eyes. "Daniel? Can you hear me, please wake up," the woman said. The accent was familiar… Dr. Bisognin.

"Well, smack him if he doesn't come to!" said the male voice, "We don't have a lot of time."

_No._ "No," Dan said breathlessly, lifting his head, "I'm… here. I'm awake."

When he opened his eyes, he met the gaze of Dr. Bisognin. Her eyes were much warmer then they were the last time he saw her, but she still looked very troubled. "Oh, good. Can you walk?" she said.

Dan nodded and put his weight on his shaky legs. He probably couldn't walk very fast, because he felt so fucking _weak_ , but if she and whoever the guy in the room was were helping him out of here than damn if he wasn't going to make himself move. "What's going on?" he asked, lifting his head a bit more.

The man, who was standing in the open door, replied. "We're getting you out of here, hopefully before anyone notices," he replied. It was Agent Chapman, from before. He wasn't complaining, but Dan was confused. They were _just_ standing with Page and torturing him.

As if reading his mind, Dr. Bisognin piped up. "Not all of us agree with the laws, Daniel," she explained, "But it's hard to get out of MI5 because it's so secretive. Jim and I have been watching and helping the tests for months, but we just can't take it anymore. Even though it really is fascinating, it's torture! Jim's been through some of them-"

"More of the life story later, Marzia, the patrol is coming," Agent Chapman –Jim, Dan guessed— interrupted and waved them forward.

She gave Dan a little smile and hauled him forward towards Jim. He stumbled, but otherwise his knees didn't give out. "Listen, you need to know, you and your friends _are_ heroes. The fact that you successfully broke in here and got those people out, that's amazing. You've inspired a number of agents to rebel," she continued.

Jim was in the front, leading them through an identical corridor to the one Dan got caught in. Hell, it might even be the same one. "If anyone found out, we'd be marked traitors," Jim added.

Dan frowned and pulled his strength together to stand up straight. Marzia's arm was still around him, and he left it there just in case he stumbled, but he was taller than as per usual. His legs still felt remarkably like jelly. "I get disagreeing on principle, but… why are you doing this if it's such a big risk?" he asked.

Jim looked over his shoulder and shrugged, grinning a little. "Queen and country?" he said. When they neared the end of the hall, he simply pulled an ID card from the hook on his belt and slid it through the scanner. He pushed the door open and they picked up the pace as they went up the stairs. With each step Dan's breathing became more normal, and by the time they got to the top of the stairs outside most of his strength was back. He took a deep breath of the cool air. It was dark, and that fucked him up a little. His internal clock was all over the place.

Dan quickly focused on his surroundings. They were in the parking lot, so originally they must have been in a different lab than Louise had him break into. Marzia pulled out a set of car keys and pressed the panic button. A grey car a few rows away beeped very loudly before she shut it off.

"That probably wasn't the best idea," Jim mumbled as they made their way towards the car.

"Sorry, habit," Marzia replied sheepishly and rushed over to the car and pulled open the driver's door.

Dan didn't know why he should trust these two, but for some reason he found himself getting into the back seat of Marzia's car anyway. He had two thoughts while the engine turned over. "Where are we going?" and, "We have to contact my team."

Jim's door was still open, and he was frozen. "It doesn't look like we're going anywhere," he said.

Dan turned to look out the back windshield, and saw that the guard at the gate was out of his hut. He was waving with both arms, and Dan could vaguely hear him shouting stop at them. The panic alarm on Marzia's car must have caught his attention, and it was obvious they were helping Dan escape. The guard looked troubled and he dove back into the hut, and then Jim appeared in Dan's periphery to chase him down. Dan didn't know what was happening but then there was an alarm blaring across the lot. They were caught, again.

Marzia whispered "Oh no," just as Dan climbed out of the car. If he wasn't at full strength by now, he would find out. Jim couldn't take down security by himself. But, Dan thought quickly, they probably didn't have to fight them at all.

Dan leaned into the open passenger's side door. "Drive towards the gate," he told Marzia. He cringed when he heard two gunshots over the blaring alarm. He ignored Marzia's confused and panicked expression, and ran to Jim, where the agent had knocked the guard unconscious. Dan wondered how he had gotten so close without being shot. "What do we do?" he asked, since he still wasn't really sure what going to happen now.

"I didn't catch him before he hit the alarm," Jim replied, and nodded towards the unconscious man on the floor, "It's generic, so no one will know exactly what it's for. But, the security office will have the source and they'll send some guards here at any moment."

Dan blinked. "Okay, great. So what do we _do?_ We need to get out of the lot, can you lower the gate?" he asked quickly.

Jim went over to the computer. "The security system will have locked all of the external exits, but I can override it, I just need time," he said.

"Okay," Dan said, a grin growing on his face, "Buying time I can do."

Jim looked over his shoulder at Dan, his expression concerned. Dan simply winked and hopped out of the hut, then paused beside the gray car. Marzia had done what she was told and was waiting before the gate. Dan gave her thumbs up and went to stand between the car and the rest of the lot, wiggling his fingers as he concentrated his warmth. Doors on the side of the building burst open, and only three guards in shirts and ties hurried onto the scene; two women and a man, each with a gun.

Dan took a breath, felt heat crackling through his fingertips, and raised his arms as if he were surrendering. Only one of the female guards lowered her gun just a bit, but they all had a mixture of confusion on their faces. With another breath and tiny, candle-like flames igniting over his fingers Dan shifted his focus to the concrete they were standing on. He searched for ideas, because even though he said he could cover the distraction, he had no idea what to do.

_Wait._ There was a strip of asphalt snaking between Dan and the guards, no doubt covering a crack in the pavement. Concrete wasn't flammable, but asphalt _totally_ was. He quickly weighed the options, ignoring the guards as they yelled at Dan to put his hands in the air. If he set it on fire, the fumes were pretty harmful and probably full of things that would cause health problems. But if he didn't, then he would be caught or _shot_ and so would Jim and Marzia. Plus, with the shit that these people have already done to him, it will probably just even out their karma.

So. _Fire it is._

Dan dropped to his knees, the barrels of the guards' guns following his move, and he lined up his palms on the asphalt. With another breath he lit up his hands, and then in moments the fire spread down the strip of black, just like when he cooked the enzyme. He couldn't quite make out what the guards were shouting, but soon Dan's flames were blocking most of their visage. It would be too dangerous to shoot blindly. He got back to his feet and tilted his head, watching the flames as black smoke filtered out of his nostrils. However he only dawdled for a second, because if this has proved anything it's that Dan is still human and inhaling asphalt fumes wasn't a good idea.

He turned back around to see how his compatriots were doing, and at the same time Jim came tumbling out of the guard's hut. There wasn't anything to run from, he just looked a little too out of control of his limbs while he hurried around. The gate was also open. "Come on, Hawk, we need to get out of here," he said.

Dan jogged over and climbed into the back seat while Jim slid into the front. As soon as both doors were shut Marzia pressed on the gas and sped them both out of the parking lot. And then, with a number of sirens blaring and the Thames building shrinking in the background, it felt like Dan could finally breath.


	14. "Home."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the DC characters of Hawk and Dove, whom I loosely based my main characters on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second update in under a week, go me. I'd now like to inform everyone that I have surpassed 50,000 words, which makes this story novel length. Like. Wow. I am so very proud. Thank you everyone for your continued support on this story, you're all amazing.

"So not only are you pyrokinetic, but you're also a pyromaniac," Jim said, turning in his seat to look at Dan.

He moved his head so he could look at Jim instead of out the window. "Yep," he replied simply. He took that moment to also glance at the car's clock. 23:48.

Frowning, Jim leaned over and muttered something to Marzia in that foreign language they had. It wasn't Spanish, because Dan took a bit of Spanish in school and even if he couldn't speak it he could pride himself on the fact that he could at least recognize it. So he asked. "What is that you're speaking?"

Jim leaned away, not sparing a glance at Dan. Dan narrowed his eyes a bit. So the MI5 agent had helped him escape, but Dan could still tell that Jim didn't quite trust him. He spoke to Marzia like parents of a two-year-old spelled out words so the kid didn't understand. He carried himself like a trained agent on a mission instead of just a man passionate about his beliefs on mutants. And that fact alone made Dan feel a little skeptical about his "queen and country" line back at the labs.

"It's Italian," Marzia replied, "I came to England to be a scientist."

"What kind of scientist are you?" Dan asked, his gaze flickering to Jim before going back again.

"I'm a biochemist," she said.

"Then you are much smarter than I ever hope to be," Dan commented.

Jim let out a huff. "We need a plan," he said. Marzia pulled over suddenly, and then Dan heard the sirens. Fire trucks with their lights and horns on full blast streaked by, heading the way their car came from. Dan watched them until they were out of sight, and then he noticed that they weren't being tailed by MI5. Even through a small fire (which might have grown, considering the trucks) they should have at least seen Marzia's license plate. "Daniel," Jim barked, causing Dan to spin around, "We need a plan."

"Don't call me that," he snapped back, "Hawk will do. You've already taken to that one."

Jim sighed. "Fine. We need a-"

"Plan, I know. You said. If you haven't noticed, Agent Chapman, I was held in a lab for god knows how long either unconscious or getting tortured. So I don't think it's fair that everything be up to me," Dan stated, his arms folded. The insides of his elbows ached from the needles but he wasn't backing down.

"You were unconscious for a day and half," Marzia added, her voice quiet. _Well shit._

Jim worked his jaw, looking irritated. "I know all about what you've been through, alright? The prime minister wasn't lying when he said he put some of us through the tests to make us bond with the mutations. I lost colleagues," he said and finally turned again in his seat to look at Dan, "I'm one of the lucky ones. After I went through that I could not watch anyone else go through the same."

Dan's expression softened ever so slightly. Even though they obviously still didn't trust each other, Dan and Jim had something in common. However, the one thing that made them different was age. Jim had been through years of training, and quite literally Dan was still a kid. And his curiosity got the best of him. "How did you survive the tests?" he asked Jim.

"I suppose the stolen blood and mine mixed well," he replied, "It made me invulnerable."

Dan's eyebrows went up. "Like, indestructible? Oh my god, the guard _did_ shoot you earlier, didn't he? But the bullets couldn't pierce your skin!" he said.

Jim nodded. "Just because I can't be physically hurt doesn't mean I don't feel the pain," he muttered.

"Okay, I'm glad you two are talking it out, but I have an idea. For the plan," Marzia said, glancing away from the road for just a moment.

Right, they needed one of those. "What is it?" Dan said.

Marzia took a breath. "Right, well, I'm already half way there because I didn't know where else to go. It's a bit of a ways, but I might have a friend who can help you contact your team. He used to work with Jim-"

"Marzia, no," Jim interrupted, already a step ahead. Annoyance flashed through Dan's chest. "He was discharged. They'll look for us there."

"How else are we going to get Hawk back to his team, just drive there?" Marzia sassed.

"No, MI5 has your license plate number," Jim said. _Ah ha_ , Dan was right.

"Exactly," she said, "And Felix can help! He was discharged only because he was hurt in the field, you know that, but he would have found a way to quit if that didn't happen. He would not have dealt with all this agent experimentation nonsense."

Jim visibly swallowed. "Fine. Take us to Felix, then. We'll have to ditch your car very soon," he said.

"Who's Felix?" Dan piped up confusedly. He didn't like being out of the loop. He had gotten unused to it.

Marzia glanced at him through the rearview mirror. "He was an MI6 agent, and a bloody good one. He and I were sort of partners-" Jim snorted. Dan ignored him. "-for a while, he always liked to bring anything he needed to me. He was on a mission in Italy a couple years ago and got injured, so badly he would never be in shape to fight again. So he got discharged. But he kept a lot of MI6 tech without them noticing. Like I said, a good agent."

"He might be able to contact your base," Jim added.

Dan lit up. "How will he do that?"

"Not sure," Marzia replied, "But if it can be done, Felix can do it. He was London's finest."

Apparently this Felix lived out of the city now, because they were in the car for over an hour before they got anywhere. In that meantime Jim kept looking behind them for any suspicious activity, mostly making sure they weren't being followed. Dan supposed there was too much traffic for anyone to keep an eye on a nondescript gray car anyway. Jim also ended up tossing away his mobile phone, along with Marzia's. They could be tracked, he said, as they were standard issue from MI5. There hadn't been time to give the two of them a thank you in this whole mess, but Dan felt a surge of gratitude as those phones went out the window. They went through all of this to help him and the others like him. They couldn't be the only two who believed this was wrong, and that gave Dan hope that there was a chance.

Felix lived in a white townhouse. The only thing separating a stretch of grass in front of each attached unit was a black fence equally spaced between them. It looked very horror movie to Dan, but he followed the other two up the stairs and to the door. Marzia knocked. Moments later a man answered door. He had a square-ish face and sandy blonde hair. He didn't even look surprised. "Felix," Marzia said, "This must look odd, but I-"

"I figured that madness at the Thames had something to do with you. All over the news," he replied with a small grin. His English was accented as well, but differently than hers was. "Can you be tracked?"

"Only by the license plate on my car. But it'll take some time before anyone knows to look for it," she said.

Felix nodded. His eyes fell on Dan then, and he gave him a once over. Dan immediately felt judged and out of place in his combat suit, which was now wrinkled from his squirming and rolling the sleeves up. "I was thinking about moving anyway. Come in," he said, nodding his head and stepping out of the way. Marzia went in first, then Dan, and then Jim.

"Chapman," Felix greeted breezily.

"Shellberg," Jim replied tersely.

Felix shut the door and showed them into a sitting room. Dan noticed that he had a considerably bad limp. Marzia perched on the sofa, as if ready to get up and go at a moment's notice, while Jim opted to just lean against a wall with his arms crossed. Dan wandered into the room and peered at things curiously as he did, trying to garner as much information as he could about their host. He had hooks on the wall with medals hanging from them, granting him things like honor and good services to England. Also, Dan had been thinking of his name wrong. It wasn't Shellberg, like it sounded, but Kjellberg. Like his accent suggested, Felix definitely wasn't English. Deciding to just put this question on hold, Dan sat on the sofa a distance away from Marzia, hoping not to get anything on Felix's furniture.

Felix sat in an armchair. "Right. So I'm assuming the fire was your doing?" he asked, directing his gaze at Dan.

He nodded. "Yes, that was me. I'm pyrokinetic," he said.

"Neat. Wish I could do something cool. I can kick a guy through a window but basic math eludes me. Ask Marzia about that one," he said, jabbing his finger in the doctor's direction.

Her cheeks turned pink. "It wasn't all that horrible," she muttered.

"Can we get to the point please?" Jim added snappily, "Dan's a mutant, part of a whole team of them stuck up in the hills somewhere. They've been doing a good job of keeping themselves away from MI5's experiments, because they're totally barbaric, and because of that Dan and two others came to try and throw a wrench in it. He was caught."

"Actually there were four others," Dan said, "Two with me, two others upstairs to put a virus in the computer system so we could control it remotely."

Felix looked impressed. "Wow. You're like your own little spy agency. Who's running that place?" he said.

Dan swallowed. "I am," he replied, "With my partner. Phil."

"Impressive," he commented.

Dan shrugged. "We need to put a stop to the mutant hunts and the experiments. They're killing us, and apparently MI5 agents as well. We thought we could at least slow it down by destroying their data and releasing the mutants they had in custody," he explained.

"And you were successful?" Felix asked, setting his chin on his hands, "Apart from them catching you, of course."

Dan looked down at his lap where his hands were shaking. "I don't know. I was kept asleep for a day and half with no contact with my team. No one's heard anything about them, so I can only assume they got back safely," he said.

"So that's why you're here. You need to contact them," Felix said.

Marzia shifted. "You're our only hope at this point. We can't drive to the base with my car, as it would give them away. And obviously we can't keep Dan here, he has a team to run, and Jim and I want to help however we can," she said.

There was a pause as Felix mulled it over. The entire time he didn't look any less than amused. "Alright, I can help," he replied simply. Dan brightened, a smile sliding onto his face. Marzia dissolved into thank yous, but Felix just shook his head. "Human experimentation is illegal, mutant or not. Not matter what MI5 thinks they're doing; their position is law enforcement. And they need to be put back in place," he continued, "I have all the equipment upstairs. I can trace any sort of radio waves out there until we find your frequency."

"How will we know?" Dan asked.

"The frequency will have an origin location. I'm assuming you know where your base is?" Felix asked him.

He pursed his lips and tried not to look like he was lying when he nodded. Even though Dan had now left the facility several times, he never actually asked exactly where it is. Hopefully he'll be able to figure it out, because this _was_ his only hope and he didn't want to deter Felix from trying.

"Okay," said Felix with a decisive nod, "Let's-" He was cut off by a loud pounding at the door. Everyone froze for a split second before springing into action. Jim pulled a gun from who-knows-where and clicked the safety off. Dan jumped to his feet to stand between Marzia and the door, and Felix dove for the handle. He waved his hand at Dan, and he took that to mean he should shift out of view. He put his hand gently on Marzia's arm and walked backwards into the sitting room, where they joined Jim and waited. Felix opened the door.

Dan's heart leapt into his throat when he heard the safety of another gun clicking off. "Where's Dan Howell?" a voice demanded. A female voice, low and sort of gruff. It sounded sort of… fake? Jim spun around and shook his head, but Dan ignored him and skidded into view of the door. He wasn't about to let anyone get shot over him.

The woman was wearing sunglasses, and her hair was tied back. She had a handgun pointed at Felix's chest, whose hands were in the air. His expression was impassive as she glanced over his shoulder at Dan. Dan stole himself. The woman, assumedly an agent from the way she dressed, spoke again. "You're coming with me," she said.

"Like hell," Jim said, who was suddenly standing a few steps behind him. Dan turned around and held up his hand, telling Jim to stop. With his jaw tight, he lowered his gun and straightened from his ready position. Where this woman came from, Dan didn't know. He must not have been perceptive enough to notice someone following them. Honestly, now he was scared. He didn't want to go back alone after being so close to tasting freedom and getting back to Phil…well, getting back to everyone.

So Dan walked right over to her. She pocketed the gun and roughly took Dan's arm, yanking him out the door. Then she pulled it shut herself and tugged him down the stairs towards a black car parked behind Marzia's. The windows were tinted black.

"I hope you know this is stupid. I know I'm Page's favorite but there isn't much more data he can get from me," Dan snapped at the woman. He wondered what the other three were going to do about this- if they were going to do anything at all. The woman shoved him into the backseat and climbed in the driver's side. While Dan got his bearings, and sat up, the woman removed her sunglasses. She dropped them somewhere, bent over, and let out a shuttered sob.

Dan's eyes widened. "Um," he said loudly.

The woman waved her hand, which he now saw had cherry red nail polish. "I'm really happy you're okay, Dan, but I need a minute. I've been a massive ball of anxiety for two days," she wheezed through her tears.

His jaw fell open. She called him Dan at the door, her clothes didn't fit right, and now her hair was no longer up and it curled around her shoulders. _"Zoe?"_

When she turned, it was in fact Zoe Sugg. She gave Dan a watery smile. "Are you okay? This entire thing has been driving me crazy, I've been trying to get you out," she said.

Dan's mouth opened and closed like a fish for several moments. "Where did you come from? Why are you dressed like this?" he asked quickly.

"Bit of a long story, but here we go," Zoe said, turning properly in her seat to look at Dan, "Well, after you got caught, Phil nearly refused to leave. We told him he would be caught too and he just _didn't care,_ Dan, he was like a whole other person when he couldn't hear you anymore. But we had to get Jack, Tanya, and Troye back to the base because they weren't doing well and that got Phil to leave. They're okay," she added at Dan's curious expression, "Dodie is too, and she's been a real trooper. Anyway, they needed some proper fluids and rest. Tanya needed a blood transfusion, but luckily Emma was a match. Marcus drove them all back, and I stayed. I just morphed into someone random in my head, probably an extra from a soap opera, to try and get you out. It's been nearly two days, and I had no idea how to find you or get you out. But it was all silly anyway, because you got yourself out! We should have had more faith in you."

"How's Phil?" Dan asked the first question on his mind, as he could update her on the situation at any moment. He just _needed_ to know that Phil was all right.

Zoe pursed her lips. "Okay. He says he's okay. But he's been, pardon my word choice, very frosty since he had to leave you. He only really talks to PJ and Louise, and me, since I've been trying to get you back," she explained.

Dan's eyes once again got wide. _Of course_ she still had a comm! "You have communication! We don't need Felix's equipment at all, this is brilliant!" he gushed, launching up and out of the car.

Zoe was right at his heels. "Dan, wait, where are you going? Didn't I just rescue you?" she asked, exasperation evident.

Dan turned halfway up the front walk. "No, no, you don't understand. _They_ rescued me," he said, pointing over his shoulder at the house, "This place belongs to a former MI6 agent who's apparently a genius, but I haven't seen him do much. An MI5 agent and a scientist got me out of the labs, telling me that they don't agree with their orders. Oh, Zoe, I have so much to tell you." When Dan paused, he noticed she had gone white. "What?"

She simply pointed. Dan spun around and found two guns pointed at them, but they weren't the simple handguns like Jim carried. They were full on assault rifles. Jim and Felix stood in the doorway, Kevlar vests protecting their vital organs. Did Felix have an entire armory in his house? Dan immediately put up his hand between them, heat pooling in his palm on reflex, while the other arm stretched in front of Zoe protectively. "Whoa," he said.

"We went through hell to get you here, you're not leaving," Jim said, still poised on the spot and peering at them down the barrel of is gun.

"Okay, listen, this isn't what it looks like," Dan said, "This is Zoe, one of my teammates from the break-in. She's been trying to do what you did ever since, with obviously less resources. She has a failsafe way to talk to the others."

Jim lifted his head, but didn't lower his gun. He spared Felix a glance. "How do you know?" he asked slowly.

Dan dropped his hand, giving him an irritated look. "I think I'd know one of my best friends when I see her. Plus, I just saw her shape-shift. Now drop the guns and let us in so we can all catch up on the situation," he said firmly.

Another glance was exchanged between the agents. Then they simultaneously lowered their weapons and stepped out of the way. "Yes sir," Jim said, but Dan could hear the edge in his voice. He didn't know if Jim was just irritable because he didn't want to be bossed around or if he was mocking him. Either way, it worked.

Taking Zoe's hand, Dan led her up the stairs and into Felix's house. He walked right to the sitting room he had so quickly run out of, startling Marzia who was standing by the window. She must have been watching through the blinds. They both sat down on the sofa and Zoe turned to him sharply. "So they got you out of the labs? What were you doing there, were they experimenting on you?" she asked. Felix and Jim came into the room then, still wearing their vests but their guns were put away somewhere.

Dan only spared them a glance and nodded at Zoe. "Yes. I'll tell you everything, but I need to make sure these guys are in the loop. They have bigger guns than you," he said.

She nodded and whispered, "It isn't even loaded. I would never trust myself."

Dan cracked a smile. "Quickly. The blonde one is Agent Felix Kjellberg and the other one is Agent Jim Chapman. She's Dr. Marzia Bisognin," he clarified with a nod and then turned himself towards the others. "Listen. I appreciate everything that you _could_ have done for me, Felix, but Zoe still has a comm. We can contact the team that way, and she's seemed to have commandeered a car," he said and turned to her, "By the way, where did you learn how to steal a car?"

Zoe shrugged. "You figure it out when you need to," she muttered.

"Change that 'we' to an 'us'," Jim added, "Where are we going to go, back to Page? No, we helped you escape, and we're going to get you back."

Dan gave him a look. "Why? 'Queen and country' isn't an answer, Chapman, I want your real answer. And yours," he added to Marzia, "You don't agree with the experiments. Yes, they're lethal and cruel. But these are amazing lengths. Like, assault rifles? What do you hope to accomplish?"

Marzia piped up. "Something better. If I discovered anything while working in those labs, it's that mutated blood is just that. _Mutated_ from that of a human. Genetic anomalies that cause superhuman abilities are becoming less and less rare, and I'd like to find out more. But not in the way Page wanted to do it. That's dangerous."

"And I'm one of you now. Unnaturally," Jim said bitterly, "Plus, you broke into a government spy agency and managed to erase data and release test subjects. That takes guts and brains. If you and your team have guts, brains, and training to try and create a better life for mutants, then people are going to rally behind you. Because for every Prime Minister Page there's four of me. Or you. Or however you want to think of it."

Dan was speechless. For the first time he realized that saving those people –Jack, Tanya, and Troye Zoe called them- wasn't all they did. They inspired a following and a want for equality, which is exactly what happened with the resistance when all of this mayhem first started.

And suddenly Dan was feeling overwhelmed. He loved Zoe, but he needed his partner back. "Er," he piped up, glancing around, "Zoe and I are going to talk to the team now. Felix, can we use your kitchen?"

Felix nodded. "It's at the end of the hall on the left. Help yourself to the food, you must be starving," he said. Dan was about to reply, but then he realized that he _was_ in fact starving. He supposed it must have been about two days since he's eaten properly. _That's_ never happened before.

So Dan stood and took Zoe's hand, hauling them both from the sofa. They walked past the others and into the kitchen. Once there, Dan's stomach gave an uncomfortable growl. Zoe dropped his hand and stood on her toes to look through cupboard. She produced a box of crackers and handed it over to Dan. "We can eat something more substantial once we talk to the others," she said.

He reached into the box and broke open a package. He stuck a cracker in his mouth and nodded once. "Alright, let's get on with it," he said, waving in her general direction. He tried to sound nonchalant, but really he was busting at the seams with excitement thinking about hearing from everyone.

Zoe smiled at him knowingly. "I've been on radio silence since this morning. They're all going to freak out," she said. She reached up and pressed a finger to the comm in her ear. "Louise? I'm here- yes! I'm okay. Yeah, I have time, but hang on," she said. She waved her hand at Dan, who was still crunching on crackers, and he walked over to stand beside her. She pulled the comm from her ear and held it up in between them. Dan leaned his head in closer so he could try and hear. "Alright, go on," Zoe said.

"We have a problem. Dan's tracker went dead this afternoon around three, and it hasn't been online again since. He was still in the lab then, but since then he could have been moved and we would have no idea," Louise said. Dan could hear her just barely if he didn't eat anything at the same time.

Zoe looked up at him, confusion written on her face. He nodded. "Must have been the shock they gave me. Couldn't even tell that it was afternoon, I was awake for like an hour before they put me under again," he said.

"They _shocked_ you?" Zoe asked.

"Yeah. Like I said, tell you later," he promised, looking and feeling oddly unconcerned.

" _Wait!"_ Louise shrieked through the comm, "Is that Dan?"

"Yes! Louise, I have a lot to tell you," Zoe said, glancing up at Dan with a smile. He just stuck another cracker in his mouth.

Louise gasped. "Dan, we've been worried sick! You have to tell us where you are; we'll come get you right now!" she said quickly, and then there was shuffling on her line. Dan waited patiently for her to come back and ask more questions, because he knew she would, but another voice spoke that made his heart skip.

"Dan, are you there, are you okay?"

Dan nearly dropped the box of crackers in excitement. "Phil!"

"Oh, thank god," Phil said, sounding relieved. Dan could just picture his shoulders slumping with released tension. "I've been going mad without you, and it's only been two days! Are you okay, what did they do to you?"

"Phil, take a breath. I'm okay now. Once we get back I'll tell you all that happened and what I found out," Dan replied slowly.

There was a pause. "You have information?" asked Louise, who must have been shoved out of the way by Phil.

"Oh yeah," Dan drawled, "I'll explain everything. Bring up Zoe's tracker and come to get us as soon as you can."

"Will do. Look out for a car at your location in a few hours," Louise replied.

Zoe cleared her throat. "What about the car I stole from the Thames building?" she asked sheepishly.

Dan pursed his lips. They couldn't take it with them, who knew what kind of traceable tech was in there. "I'll ask Felix to take care of it. I'm sure he has a way," he said decidedly.

She nodded. "Thank you, Louise," Zoe sighed, looking one hundred percent better knowing she was going home. That's an odd idea, Dan thought suddenly. Home.

"See you soon," Phil added, his voice laced with excitement. Dan understood the sentiment.

"Yeah," said Dan, a small smile growing on his face, "See you soon."

Just like she promised, Louise had a car pick them up from Felix's in under four hours. And that was amazing. Dan had run outside, hoping it was Phil driving, but it turned out to be just Marcus inside. Zoe had thrown herself at him, saying how happy she was to see him. Dan said he was glad too, but that was mostly a mask to hide his disappointment that it wasn't Phil. He figured his friends picked up on that, but no matter. The original plan was to just take Dan and Zoe back, but Jim convinced them to let him come too. He used the argument that he was technically mutant now, and didn't they have a scientist who would want to ask questions? They did. Didn't they want to be trained by someone who actually knew a thing or two about combat? They did. They let him come. Marzia stayed behind with Felix, and they left Zoe's comm so they could contact her. She told them she and Felix could use their equipment to spy further on MI5 and follow up on their plans. The extra car would be taken of, somehow.

Not even fifteen minutes into the journey, Dan and Zoe fell asleep on each other. On top of being starving (Felix made them pasta in the four hour downtime and they had scarfed that down) they were also exhausted, Dan especially. He fell asleep to Jim and Marcus chatting, and after that it was weird. He was vaguely aware of being shaken awake and helped out of the car, up some stairs, and inside. When he woke up properly, he was lying in a hospital bed. Thoughts of the lab flooded his brain and he sat bolt upright. He didn't remember ever arriving back at the facility.

There was something attached to his forefinger and without thinking he ripped it off. It didn't hurt and there was no leaking. Thankfully there were no more needles; it was just a heart monitor. The machine started to beep like crazy at being unattached. When Dan could take in his surroundings, he could see that he was only in the infirmary.

"Dan!" He turned his head. Phil had shot up from his chair in the corner and moved to stand beside Dan's bed. He brightened instantly. He was home.

"Hey," Dan said, smiling.

Phil sat on the edge of the bed after he turned off the heart monitor so it would stop beeping so aggressively. Actually, he just unplugged it. "How are you feeling? You came in here pale as a ghost," he said, "Also, drink that water. Louise said I had to make you."

"I don't even remember getting here. I fell asleep on the way," Dan replied, picking up the bottle of water from his bedside table and downing half of it in one go, "Oh. And I'm fine. Better now."

He smiled and reached for Dan's hand, clasping it in both his own. Not even a puff of steam rose between them. "Good. Now I don't want to overwhelm you since you just woke up, but you really need to tell Louise and the team what happened to you. Oh, and you've been asleep for twelve hours," he said.

Dan's eyes widened. "Wow. Guess I needed that," he chuckled lightly, "But I will. Has she been talking to Jim? Have you met him?"

Phil nodded. "Yep. I sort of asked him all my questions first. Louise won't let him leave her side, but he's been begging to see Tanya," he said.

"Oh," comprehension dawned on Dan's face, "I should talk to her, and the other two. I have a lot of questions."

"They'll be happy to answer. Tanya and Troye still have to rest, but Jack is out and about. He's taken a liking to one of the trainees, it's quite funny," he said.

Dan smiled again, but even though he did look content, there was something in Phil's expression that told him he wasn't all that happy. "Phil, are you okay?" he asked cautiously.

Phil frowned and looked down, fidgeting slightly. "I'm okay, but…" he gulped and looked back at Dan, "Why did you do it?"

He knew immediately what Phil meant. "I had to do it, Phil. It was either me, or it was me _and_ Jack, and I wasn't going to let that happen. Either way I was fucked," he said.

"You should have told me as soon as you realized what was going to happen. We could have gone through it together," Phil told him.

Dan shook his head, the thought of Phil going through any one of those lab tests made him feel sick. He pulled his hand out of Phil's grasp so he could push his greasy hair off his forehead. "And leave Dodie by herself with three rescues who were out of sorts? Absolutely not," he retorted.

"You promised me, Dan, that we would be a team. We should make every decision together-"

"I wasn't about to let you be experimented on," Dan interrupted firmly.

"I had to let it happen to you!" Phil countered, his voice rising, "Think about where that put _me,_ Dan. I was forced to leave you in the hands of the enemy because there were people to save. That part I understood, but it killed me. And then here I was, alone, without knowing what they were doing to you or if I would ever even get to see you again! I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, because all I could think about was you." He paused, and Dan's mouth was agape. "I didn't sleep until we talked yesterday. That's why I wasn't there when you got picked up; they left me because I fell asleep. Since I finally _could_ because I knew you were safe. And I knew you were coming back to me."

Dan just blinked at him, his mind swirling. Phil was right. He had been in the exact position that Dan wanted to avoid by getting caught. "Phil-"

He plowed on. "Why did you have to be so damn heroic, Dan? If you didn't make it, I don't know what I would have done! You have to promise me again that you won't leave me-"

"Jesus Christ," Dan muttered under Phil's voice. He grabbed the collar of Phil's shirt with both hands and yanked him in, pressing their mouths together and effectively cutting off the other's rambling. Phil was stunned for just a moment, then one of his hands slid up to rest gently on the back of Dan's neck.

He didn't know for how long they kissed, but too soon they had to come up for air. "I'm sorry," Dan whispered, his eyes closed and his forehead pressed against Phil's, "And I promise."


	15. "We're fine."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the DC characters Hawk and Dove, whom I loosely based my main characters on.

Dan was hydrated and rested before late afternoon. And when that happened, he immediately got out of bed and told Phil he needed to see Louise. He was done lying around and healing and letting other people do his job for him.

Jesus. It was the little things with leading a team.

Now showered and in clean clothes, Dan walked briskly through the halls of the facility to find Louise. Phil assured him she was in her office, that she hadn’t left since he was taken. He made it all the way up the stairs without loosing his breath, which was surprising because that meant he was more in shape than he was when he first arrived. That meant his training was working. That was basically the best news he’s heard in a few days.

Dan didn’t knock on the door when they arrived at the office; he just strode right in and up to Louise. Phil was only a few steps behind, his hand intertwined with Dan’s. In the small room, Louise and Jim looked very busy. There was a blood pressure cuff around Jim’s right bicep, and he sat on the desk while Louise looked very interested in her computer screen. Jim noticed them right away and waved a little, but it took Dan clearing his throat for Louise to look up.

“Dan!” she squealed, bolting up, “You’re okay!”

She threw her arms around his neck and squeezed, and he let out a soft ‘oof’ at the impact but didn’t fall over. He put his free arm around Louise to hug her back but the other one stayed firmly in Phil’s grasp, as neither of them was quite ready to let go yet.

“Yes, I’m okay. What are you doing in here?” he asked as she stepped away.

“We’re studying Jim’s blood. He let me take a sample and all went swimmingly,” Louise said, adding the last part as if she could hear Dan’s heart lurch uncomfortably, “I found a few abnormalities.”

He tilted his head curiously and Phil piped up, “Like what?”

“Well, first of all, heightened blood pressure,” she replied and Jim helpfully held up the arm with the cuff on it, “While it’s not exactly unhealthy, it’s a bit of a concern considering the blood was forcibly mutated. I’ve also been closely moderating the sample I took to make sure it wouldn’t mutate further.”

Dan passed a look over at Phil. He looked equally as worried. “Is that possible?” the former asked.

Louise took a breath. “I’m not sure. It could, especially if Jim were to be put in another high stress situation. But there’s no saying what could happen to him,” she said.

“So…” Dan said slowly, trying to understand.

“If Jim were to be in a life-threatening situation at any point in the future, his mutation could get out of control because his body is now conditioned to react that way,” she supplied.

Jim interjected. “So I could die.”

“You’d probably die,” Louise corrected.

Huffing sharply, Dan shook his head. “The point of the experiments was to make the mutations further adapt for self preservation. So why wouldn’t that keep happening? Why wouldn’t the mutation _keep_ him from dying?” he said. Just talking about what he went through caused a spark of anxiety to flare up in his chest. He was glad Phil’s hand was still in his, so he had something to focus on.

“I’ve thought about that too. I tried it with Jim’s blood sample,” continued Louise, “His mutation isn’t natural, like the lot of us. In nearly every case, you and I would keep mutating to stay alive. But Jim’s body isn’t prepared for that, so if his blood were to mutate further it wouldn’t be able to react fast enough. So, that spells coma, if he’s lucky, or death.”

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Jim said sardonically.

Dan took in another steadying breath. It was shakier than it should have been. He knew for a fact that Jim wasn’t the only agent who was, well, _infected_ with mutated blood. “There’s a lot of you, aren’t there?” he asked.

Solemn, Jim nodded. “And I don’t think any of the MI5 scientists have figured this out,” he said.

Once again Dan and Phil exchanged a look. Dan gave a little nod. “We need to do something. Those agents can’t be sent out into combat just to have their own bodies turn against them,” Phil said.

“You’re not going to get anywhere near them,” said Jim, “Page hoarded us for special ops. When we did go out on missions, they were short and bloody. When we weren’t doing that we were training. Besides, most of the others think their powers are great.”

Louise snapped her fingers and hurried over to her computer. “What kind of powers did your colleagues get?” she asked.

The agent pursed his lips, thinking. “A lot of them got invulnerability like I did. Others got x-ray vision, or the ability to pass through walls,” he said.

“Is that all?” asked Louise while she typed.

“That’s all.”

They were all silent for a few minutes while they let Louise figure it out. Obviously she saw something that they didn’t, but that wasn’t surprising. Dan didn’t know where they would be without their resident super genius.

“Of course,” Louise said, cutting into the silence, “There’s a range of three possible powers for enhanced MI5 agents to get. Three mutations and three mutants who gave blood. So that suggests-”

“Each blood sample is different,” Phil interrupted, as if the thought was just coming to him, “We’re not all mutated in the same way.”

Louise nodded. “Precisely. Here’s what I’m gathering; Jim and those with his power were given blood from Jack. All of Jack’s senses are hypersensitive, including touch, so the invulnerability just comes from the gene the mutation attached to, causing the opposite to happen. The x-ray vision must come from Tanya, and the passing through walls from Troye.”

Phil sighed. “What are their powers then?” he asked. Sometimes Louise thought so fast that she assumed others could read her mind. She and Marcus must have odd conversations.

“Tanya has tried her best to explain it to me, but I think she can manipulate visible light. She makes herself invisible by making the light around her invisible so she can’t be seen,” she said, still typing at her computer, “And Troye can produce clones. They’re not /actual/ clones, they’re illusions, so they look real without actually being real. That’s where the phasing through walls comes from. All the genes are just _slightly_ different.”

Suddenly Dan went rigid. “They have my blood too,” he said, “If they use that on the agents it would create an entirely new power.”

Louise nodded thoughtfully. “You’re right. I have no idea what that could be,” she replied.

“Well, whatever it is, it’s not going to be as simple as the others. My abilities came to me hard and fast and I set a lot of things on fire before I came here,” Dan said worriedly, “We have to destroy the samples. We’re not stopping the atrocities when they have ways of duplicating our genes, even without the enzyme.”

Phil tugged on Dan’s hand. “You want to go _back?_ ” he asked.

Louise and Jim looked on expectantly. The thought of even _seeing_ the Thames building again kind of made Dan want to vomit, but he didn’t see another way. This was their original mission, now with a second part. “We have to. I don’t see another way,” he replied.

Phil squeezed Dan’s hand again, getting his attention. “Let’s talk to the team before we make a definite decision, okay?” he said gently. Dan nodded his head. Naturally, he was right.

About a half hour later, the rest of the team had been filled in on everything they needed to know, which could be put under ‘the shit our fucktwit government is really up to’ according to Dan. They explained the experiments, the blood samples, and the enhanced agents. That apparently cleared up a lot of awkwardness between Jim and the others, because they had previously no idea why he was there. And after all that, Dan told them all he wanted was to go back and destroy the blood samples so they couldn’t turn anymore agents.

“What are we going to do about the ones who already have powers?” Alfie asked.

Dan shook his head. “I haven’t gotten that far yet, I just need to know what you all think about going back into London. But, Jim says the enhanced agents are kept very busy and it would be hard to get to them,” he said.

“Most of them are completely sided with the prime minister,” Jim added.

Alfie nodded and Marcus put up his hand to attract attention. “I think we should all go. Just storm the Thames building,” he said.

“That brings back the risk of making everyone even more afraid of us,” Phil said, “Imagine it; a group of super powered strangers attack a government building? It would be terrifying for your everyday Londoner.”

Dan crossed his arms, staring at the wall. Once again, Phil had a point. But Dan _really_ didn’t see another option. Obviously sneaking in wasn’t going to get them anywhere, as now they’ve done it and that’s predictable. And he wasn’t about to let anyone else get taken; as it was too horrible and it would put them all back at square one.

“I agree with you, Dan,” Marcus said, jolting his attention to the telepath. Obviously he had heard Dan’s thoughts. “I don’t see another way to end it all for good. Does anyone else have an idea?”

Dan and Phil each surveyed the room. No one said anything for several minutes. There were no other ideas. “So we do it. Siege MI5,” said Phil.

“It’s up to you, boys,” Zoe told them from her place beside Alfie. They were also constantly touching now, Dan noticed.

Dan looked at Phil, who was already looking in his direction. Dan raised his eyebrows in question. He knew Phil really didn’t want anyone else to hate them, whether it be because they were different or because of their actions. But if Dan knew him, and he did, he knew Phil would see the severity of the situation. So, just as he was hoping, Phil nodded once.

“It’s a plan, then,” Dan said, turning back to the room full of their counsel, “We’re going to attack the Thames building. As a team. We’ll figure out details later when we can get everyone in one room to discuss.”

There were nods all around. That’s when Jim hopped off of the desk he was sitting on, getting everyone’s attention. “I think this is a good time to remind you, Hawk and Dove, that none of you are trained to even hope to bring down an MI5 agent. I can help there,” he said.

“Fine,” said Dan, “You can start hand to hand combat training tomorrow. It’ll be a, uh, rather large class.”

“Anyone else have an idea?” Phil asked the room.

A hand went up in the corner of the room. PJ. “I think I have just the thing to help us out with this plan.”

Soon they were all outside in the junkyard. It was drizzling and slightly chilly, but PJ ensured them that this was ‘integral to the invasion plan’. So they braved it, even through Dan’s incessant grumbling that it was messing up his hair. PJ had one of his tablets (how many he had actually made, no one had any idea) out and ready to go, and he seemed completely unconcerned by the rain.

“Now, these are prototypes, but I’m quite proud of the way they turned out. There are only two, so take turns,” he said. Before anyone could ask any questions PJ had tapped something on his tablet, and the sound of engines revving echoed off the hills.

From around a couple wrecked cars, two motorbikes driving on their own sped towards them. PJ tapped away again and they braked right before them, their engines still purring quietly. They looked and sounded brand new, as opposed to built from scraps of metal in the junkyard.

“How did you build these?” Dan asked, walking over to one of the bikes, but not touching it.

“I broke down some of our surveillance system, since we don’t really need it anymore, and used the tech to add some upgrades to some old motorbikes we had sitting around,” PJ replied, “I started them right after you got taken, Dan. Thought we might need a faster way to get around.”

Dan didn’t understand a thing about building vehicles, but he was thankful that knowledge fell under PJ’s umbrella of abilities, like hacking. Now Dan did touch one of the bikes, running his hand over the handlebars. It hummed under his touch as if it were alive. “What are the upgrades?” he heard Phil ask, though he was mostly distracted.

“Like I said, they’re prototypes, but most of the upgrades on these two will work. They have handprint memories, which means once they’re programmed they’ll only run for that one person. That prevents theft, you know, _just in case._ ” Louise scoffed indignantly and PJ continued. “They can also be controlled remotely, as you probably gathered with my tablet, but anyone who needs a bike will get a little pad on the combat suits to control it. There are also weapon compartments and cup holders!”

Dan looked over at PJ and gave him a bright smile. This was just _so cool._ This would definitely up their intimidation factor when it came to going to the London, if they had more of them.

“Want to take one for a spin?” PJ asked.

And Dan’s smile fell. He could probably count on his two hands the number of times he’s driven a car. He could ride a bicycle, but he assumed this would be much different. “I would probably kill myself,” he replied.

“We can work up to it,” the technopath replied with a little nod.

“I’ll try one,” Phil said with a grin.

Everyone looked mildly surprised, but Phil’s expression remained. PJ shrugged and nodded, donning an unconcerned expression. Phil bounced over to the other bike and just as he was about to climb on, Alfie called “Wait!”

Phil paused and he walked over, removing his jacket and handing it to Phil. “Wear this. It’s kind of chilly and even though you’re naturally cold, doesn’t mean you can’t get windburn on your arms. We can’t have our _other_ fearless leader hurt, can we?” he continued.

Dan narrowed his eyes as Alfie walked away, who simply gave him a good-natured wink. Phil slipped on the jacket, and although it was a bit too big, it was also _leather._ Dan had never seen Phil wear leather before. Honestly, it worked, and Dan was sort of mesmerized as Phil climbed onto the motorbike and then waved PJ over to ask him how to go about operating it.

Soon he stepped away and asked Phil if he was ready. When he got the thumbs up, he pressed something on his tablet and the engine roared again. Phil pressed the clutch and gas, picked up his feet, and sped off. Anxiety flared inside Dan as he watched and he clutched his hands in front of him. What if Phil crashed? What if PJ made a mistake in the construction and the bike explodes?

However, before he turned around a corner, Dan did see him smiling. But then, a few seconds later…

 _Crash._ “Phil!”

* * *

 

“Dan, I’m fine.”

“Seriously, Phil, shut up. I’m wrapping an ace bandage around your sprained wrist.”

So Phil shut up. They were back in their room, after Phil’s bike had collided with a truck in the junkyard. A parked truck, that is. All that happened was Phil falling off and onto his wrist, but with how scared it made Dan feel it was like he was in a coma. Phil himself would have complained more if Dan’s warm hands hadn’t been there to ease the pain.

He looked on bemusedly while Dan was on his knees between Phil’s knees, the offending wrist being held between them. He carefully secured the bandage once he was finished with it. He sank back on his heels while Phil remained sitting on the edge of his bed. He tilted his head. “That was really fun,” he said, referring to the bike ride.

“You nearly gave me a heart attack,” Dan retorted.

“Funny how you freak out over my sprained wrist,” Phil said, studying the bandaged appendage, “While I look at you and see the bruises all over.”

On instinct, Dan replied, “I’m fine.”

“That sounds familiar.”

Dan narrowed his eyes. “That’s not fair.”

Phil leaned forward on his knees, effectively leaning his face closer to Dan’s. “No, but we’re even now. Although you were tortured and assaulted, you’re fine, and even though all that happened to me is a sprained wrist, I’m also fine. We’re fine.”

Nodding, Dan looked up and met Phil’s eyes. Tortured and assaulted. Things were added to and taken from his body without his permission. Dan’s breath suddenly came in shallowly. Phil’s expression changed. “You’re not okay, Dan,” he murmured.

Dan shook his head and then the tears came. Phil reached out, taking Dan’s arms to lift him off his knees and pull him onto the bed. Phil was right; Dan was _not okay._ Ever since he got out of captivity he had been holding it in because he needed to be strong, he needed to figure out a way to get home to Phil, he needed to be a leader. But now it was just the two of them and his emotions were catching up. Plus, Phil could read him like an open book.

Holding him close, Phil let Dan cry into his shoulder. He gently rubbed Dan’s back, and the other arm was securely around his shoulders and squeezing. “You don’t want to go back to the Thames building,” he said. It wasn’t a question, but he was right. In fact, the very thought of being in the MI5 labs again gave him an overwhelming feeling of anxiety.

“There’s no other way, Phil,” Dan muttered through his tears.

“I know. But you don’t have to go,” Phil said quietly.

That was not an option. “Of course I have to go. This is my job just as much as it is yours,” he said firmly and lifted his head to meet Phil’s eyes again, “We’re a team, remember? I’m not breaking that promise again.”

Phil frowned, then brought the hand that was previously rubbing Dan’s back to his cheek. He gently cupped it, brushing his thumb to blur some of the tear tracks. “You are the bravest person I’ve ever met,” he told him sincerely. Dan’s heart skipped a beat. “And it’s okay to feel this way. You went through a traumatic experience that only a tiny amount of people here understand.”

“I’m not giving up,” Dan said decidedly, “Even though I never, ever want to go back there again I will not leave my team. Or you.”

Phil cracked a smile and leaned forward, giving Dan their second kiss that day. This time it was much less rushed, and Dan could actually take the time to memorize how nice it felt. How uniquely Phil he tasted, like frozen fruit.

“They won’t touch you again, Dan,” Phil said after they split, their foreheads pressed together and their lips still ghosting together, “Over my dead body.” Dan didn’t know when more tears started to fall. He also didn’t know if they were happy or anxious tears. “You’re fine. We’re fine.”

And they would be, Dan knew. Together they could move mountains, or at least try. That’s what Hawk and Dove was all about.


	16. "Genesis"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the DC characters of Hawk and Dove, whom I loosely based my main characters on.

Sweat poured down Dan’s face, droplets collecting at his temples and in the ends of his hair. His breathing came in shallow pants. He leaned further forward, hands on his knees, trying to gather himself a bit. He wasn’t used to sweating, because his body was always unnaturally warm and it never needed to cool itself down. But then again, he had never exerted himself like this before.

“Maybe that was too hard?” Phil offered sheepishly, though he also sounded out of breath.

“No,” Dan said firmly, “Just… give me a second to adjust.”

Phil didn’t answer, but his feet stilled on the mat where Dan could see them. He always knew Phil was slightly taller than he was, but Dan didn’t expect him to pack so much _power_ in those few centimeters. Even without using his abilities, he was very close to completely overpowering Dan.

“Come on, Hawk,” Jim said from outside the sparring ring, “No adversary is going to give you a second to adjust.”

Dan straightened and narrowed his eyes. “No adversary is going to tell me I can’t burn them,” he retorted.

Jim simply crossed his arms. “You want to know how to fight, you have to learn how to throw a punch,” he said, “And take one. But it seems as though you can already do that.”

“I’m sorry!” Phil said quickly, his voice muffled since his hands were pressed over his mouth.

Dan looked over and waved his hand. “Stop apologizing. This is what we signed up for.”

“Let’s go, boys, we don’t have time,” Jim said, tapping his foot impatiently.

Dan huffed, because he was right. Combat training was not the most pleasant thing in the world, but they had to do a lot of it if they were going to be ready to take on MI5 agents. And they had to do it quickly, as they were racing to train up before the labs could make more enhanced agents with Dan’s blood. According to Felix and Marzia, they were closer and closer every day.

Dan and Phil had the idea to train with Jim as just the two of them. The entire team was going through it, but as the top authority, the two of them needed to be good to set an example. So, every day, they got an extra two hours with faster paced lessons. After a week of basics, they were onto sparring. That’s when Dan discovered that even though he had a good grip on the heat now, he still had so much to work on.

Dan looked over at his partner. “Let’s go again,” he said.

Phil nodded. Dan took a breath and raised his hands in front of him, and waved Phil forward. Then they started again. Phil aimed a punch for Dan’s face but he ducked under it, grabbing Phil’s wrist and slinging him across the ring. He stumbled and Dan took a moment to breath, but then Phil was on him again, and he took a well-aimed elbow to his ribs. Dan sucked in a breath, ignoring the bloom of pain, and raised his arm for his own strike. They each blocked a few blows to their faces and then Dan kneed Phil’s stomach. He stumbled and doubled over, and Dan jumped on his back and put his arm around Phil’s neck. He pulled so that Phil’s back was against his chest and tried to think of what to do next. And just when Dan thought he had the upper hand, Phil dropped to his knees and flipped Dan right over his shoulder. Dan landed hard on his back, the mat making a soft ‘poof’ noise as he did.

“Goddammit!” Dan exclaimed, kicking his legs in frustration.

Phil leaned over him, looking sheepish. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

Dan sighed. “It’s not your fault I suck,” he replied dejectedly, “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” he said with a nod. He walked around and held out a hand to help Dan up. When he was back on his feet, Jim cleared his throat.

“Well done, Dove,” he said, “Now, I think I see the problem. Dan thinks too much.”

Dan’s expression became confused. “I think too much?” he repeated slowly.

Jim sighed. “You’re doing all the right things, but you’re pausing too long in between each of your attacks to think of what to do next. That’s giving your opponent enough time to overpower you,” he said.

“How do I fix that?” he asked, crossing his arms while Phil pressed his hand against a bruise on Dan’s jaw. The cold stung a little, but he didn’t react.

“Get out of your head,” said Jim simply.

Dan gave him a look. Yeah, that was easy. “Thanks,” he grumbled. He gently removed Phil’s hand from his face. The spot didn’t ache anymore. He mouthed a thank you to Phil and then the double doors opened at the end of the room.

Zoe skipped in, her smile bright, with a boy trailing behind her. It was the one that they got out of the lab, who Dan hadn’t spoken to since he was still in an infirmary bed. He looked much better now; his face had gained color, and he kept right up with Zoe’s fast pace. Dan felt a little guilty that he didn’t know much about the new people.

“Hello, boys,” she said, giving them all a warm smile, “This is Troye. He’s going to join us in training today.”

“How are you feeling?” Phil asked the smaller boy, looking concerned.

Troye wrung his hands. “Much better,” he replied and gave them a little smile.

“Fine,” Jim said, “I think someone is done with getting his butt kicked today anyway.”

Dan narrowed his eyes at Jim, but then in the corner of his eye he watched Troye shift uncomfortably. He doubted the smaller boy was ready for combat training, considering that he went through much more in the labs, but Dan admired him. Everyone was going to learn basics in defense, but someone small like Troye was hardly going to go into combat any time soon.

Phil hopped out of the ring first, and Dan was right behind him. “How are things going?” he asked Zoe, “You’ve been spending a lot of time with the trainees, right?”

She nodded. “A lot of the younger ones are catching onto their powers quickly. Alfie and Carrie keep the stress down low and they’re very encouraging. Joe and Caspar are a little hard on them sometimes, but they defend themselves in saying everyone needs to understand the severity of our situation. All in all, everything is balanced well and we have low numbers of people wanting to quit.” She punctuated her report with a pleasant smile. The boys frowned.

“But that means there are some out there who want to quit,” said Phil dejectedly. He hated feeling like he wasn’t doing enough.

Zoe’s expression faded just a bit. “Well, there are always going to be, aren’t there? We’re in a bit of a bind around here. The problem with this… genesis of mutants is that a lot of them are children, even younger than you, and they’re just a handful of what’s out there. They just don’t understand and they’re seeing these things we’re having them do like they see school; just more work to do,” she said.

Phil pouted just a bit. Dan spoke up. “Well, we can’t please everyone-”

“Wait,” Phil said quickly, “What did you say? _What_ of mutants?”

Zoe thought a few moments. “Er, genesis of mutants, I think. It means beginning.”

“Right. I think… that might be a good team name for us. Genesis. The Mutant Genesis. The beginning, it’s cute,” he continued.

Dan nodded, passing a smile at Zoe. She smiled back. “I like it, Phil. Maybe we’ll keep that after all,” he said and then gave Zoe a hard look. “And I don’t appreciate your insinuation that I’m a child, by the way,” he added, trying lighten the mood back up.

“Please,” she said, and Dan was thankful that she smiled and rolled her eyes, “You’re still in your teenage years. And you will be for another two!”

“Not really! I’ll be nineteen in…” he trailed off, pausing as he realized he didn’t know what day it was. In fact, he didn’t even have a clue. “I’ll be nineteen soon. That’s almost twenty and that’s adult-ish.”

“Yeah, right,” Jim added from across the room.

“Who asked you?” Dan chided, although there was particularly less malice in his voice than when he usually spoke to the former agent.

Phil chuckled a little, and from behind Zoe, Troye was smiling. At least there was a little comfort for him in their banter. It was true that Dan and Phil felt disconnected from the trainees, especially the younger ones, but among the higher ranks there was a very warm feeling of friendship or even family. They would have to fix that other thing.

Then others started to fill in for their combat lesson as well. Marcus and Alfie arrived first and were trailed by Chris and PJ, the latter looking just as unexcited as he usually did this time of day. He made the argument that if Louise didn’t have to do combat, he didn’t either; his place was in the lab on the _other_ side of the coms. The only real reason PJ was around was because Dan felt slightly incomplete without the entire foursome that started all of this.

Carrie skipped over to give them all hugs. “Hello, boys. When do I get to fight you?” she chirped. She asked them every day.

“Maybe when Dan learns how to throw a punch,” Zoe supplied and covered her mouth to shield her giggles. Dan was giving her a dark glare.

“I can _produce flames,_ I will never need to punch someone!”

Carrie laughed too, but continued on her way to stand with some of the other girls. Emma and Dodie were among them. Dodie looked over and met Dan’s eyes. She waved with a little smile. Dan waved back, managing a smile in return. Seeing Dodie and being reminded of the MI5 mission gave him a pang of anxiety, as usual, but half of that pang was also guilt over not speaking to her since that mission. He added that to his mental list of things to do in the immediate future.

Jim wandered back into the crowd and shouted for everyone to find a partner. This was Dan’s least favorite part of the lesson because he wasn’t allowed to pair with Phil. He knew it was a fair rule, because they spent all their time together otherwise, but he still complained. Usually it was along the lines of ‘you people chose me to be in charge and you’re bossing me around, this is a farce’.

Dan watched Zoe head over to Marcus, her favorite partner since Alfie was unfairly strong. With her absence, Troye stood by himself. He again looked vastly uncomfortable. He was part of Dan’s team now; what kind of leader was he if he left a kid to fend for himself?

So he walked over. “Hey, Troye. Want to work with me?”

Troye opened and closed his mouth a couple times. “You… want to be help me?” he asked.

Dan shifted on his feet, a little uncomfortable as well. “Yes. That’s why I’m asking,” he said.

Troye cleared his throat. “Sorry, it’s just… you seem a little more important than me,” he said.

Shaking his head, Dan waved a hand. “Nah. We’re all on the same level here,” he assured. He nodded towards the crowd of pairs, and they stood at the edge. Phil and Carrie were across the room.

Jim instructed them on new disarming tactics. One was simple; snatch the weapon –in a safe place– and then hit the other hand out of the way. The other one was more complicated and involved a chokehold, which Dan was not prepared to try on little Troye. And he wasn’t sure it would work vise versa either.

When practicing began around the room, Dan turned to his partner. “Right. So I’ll go first, I-”

“Okay,” Troye replied a little too quickly, cutting him off.

Dan frowned and nodded. He put up his arms, pantomiming holding a weapon, but Troye’s gaze was elsewhere. He was more focused on everyone else. Dan relaxed and followed the other’s gaze. There were distinctive snaps of hands hitting wrists, and little grunts as a stronger partner pushed a bit too hard. Troye who was wringing his hands again. He looked nervous and winced every time a hand came in contact with flesh. Dan pursed his lips. If he had a stress reaction after being held in the labs for a little over a day, he couldn’t think of what Troye had been through. He didn’t even know how long the kid was there.

He swallowed. “Come on,” he muttered to Troye, reaching out towards him.

Troye stepped back, flinching. Obviously a learned response as he immediately crossed his arms and looked guilty about it. Dan sighed and tried again and this time Troye didn’t shy away. Dan approached him and braced his arm around Troye’s shoulders, and then started to move them away from the crowd towards the door.

Jim noticed and called out. “Hey, where are-”

Dan looked over his shoulder and silenced him with one hand. Jim may have the most knowledge in fighting, but Dan was still in charge of everything else. Usually he was more polite, but being mentally stable was more important than being physically fit.

Troye paused in the hallway and looked up at Dan. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Yes, I did,” he replied, “I understand why you were anxious in there. Do you, uh,” He paused, slightly awkward, and rubbed the back of his neck. “Want to talk about it?”

The boy shifted, looking down at the floor. “I don’t know,” he muttered.

Dan huffed and sat on the floor. Now Troye was looking down at him. “I must have been in captivity for much less time than you were, but still even thinking about the Thames Building makes me shiver. Phil and I try to keep everything going and make final decisions around here, so I ignored the anxiety to try and get back to my job. But it didn’t get better until I told Phil everything,” he explained.

Troye looked over, frowning. He didn’t have someone like Dan had Phil, and that was understood, but if they were similar at all Troye needed to talk.

“Louise has already tried to get it out of me. A couple times,” he said, sitting beside Dan on the floor.

Dan smiled just a little. “She thinks with less compassion and more logic,” he agreed.

Troye nodded. “I guess talking to you would be different,” he said, leaning his head back against the wall, “You were there, in the lab. I also owe my life to you. And Dodie and Phil.”

“I got myself into that mess. You really didn’t have a choice,” said Dan.

Troye took a breath and closed his eyes. “No, I really didn’t. I’m not from England, you know. I was born in South Africa, spent a lot of my childhood there. No one was like me. I had a handle on my powers very early,” he said and chuckled, “So early in fact I sent clones to school for me before I was even eight. Naturally that meant I didn’t do so well when I actually went to school.”

“Page told me you and the others couldn’t control your powers well,” Dan said curiously.

Troye looked over and grinned a little. “That’s because I lied about it. It’s true about Jack and Tanya, but I lied to try and get myself off easier. A learned that skill from the sending clones to school thing.”

Dan nodded, listening carefully. He only knew the backstories of Phil, Zoe, and Louise out of everyone in the compound. “What are your clones like?” he wondered.

“They’re just like me. No one can ever tell between them and me, until they get touched. You’ll pass right through them like they’re ghosts. So, back in South Africa, it didn’t take long for them to figure out that the clone Troyes were a little wrong,” he replied and shook his head, “So, when that happened, my parents did all they could to keep the school quiet. Then we moved to England and I tried to keep my powers under wraps, but it made me… itchy. On the inside. Like they needed to get out. So I let them out every once in a while, and I guess I was seen by the wrong person.”

“Then what happened?” Dan asked, his tone quieter. He could tell the conversation was going towards darker territory.

Troye swallowed. “Government agents had to come and basically pull me out of my house. My parents weren’t about to let me go, but they threatened arrest, so I made them. It was breaking the law, you know, keeping me. Then in the labs… they did awful things, probably things that are similar to what they did to you. Accept I got more, well, _personal_ attention to get my clones to show themselves so they could be studied. It never worked, because like I said I can control it really well.”

Dan decided not to ask about the tests. Troye already looked more comfortable and he didn’t want to ruin that. “That’s why you didn’t want to be around the training room, and why Jim makes you nervous,” said Dan.

The boy nodded. “I thought I was ready. Apparently not,” he murmured.

“You will be, eventually,” Dan sighed, “At least that’s what I hear. You don’t have to go back to MI5 until you know you can take it.”

“Are you ready? I know you’re planning an attack,” Troye said, looking over.

Dan was the one who closed his eyes that time. He wasn’t ready. He didn’t want to go back but he had a team to lead. “No. Everyone knows it, too. But I can’t sit back and let everyone go in for me. I’ve been here far too long to allow that,” he said.

“I understand,” Troye nodded again, “I wish you luck. I will forever be grateful for you, Dan. You really saved our lives.”

Dan grinned at him. “That’s all we want to do, to save lives. Keep our own people safe and get rid of the stigma on mutants,” he said.

“You could keep everyone else safe too,” Troye grinned too, “Like the X-Men.”

Dan chuckled. “You’re not the first person to say that,” he said.

“It’s a good point. Everyone here has the capacity to be a real life superhero,” Troye pointed out.

Dan had considered it. Their own facility, their code names, their powers, their team. They did seem like a band of superheroes. Page even said it to him back in the lab. “We’ll have to wait and see,” he conceded, and with another smile Troye seemed mollified.

That evening, a group of them gathered up all the blankets they could find and decided to sit outside. Phil was the one who pointed out that they never did anything fun anymore, not since breaking the rules had proven to not be breaking the rules anymore. So Dan and Phil brought the comforters from their room and met the others outside, in a grassy stretch outside the fence of the junkyard.

If no one looked at the heaps of rusting metal, it was actually quite nice.

Dan and Phil sat with their backs against the fence, and everyone else made a circle. Zoe and Alfie shared a blanket and sat across from them. Louise, Chris, PJ, Carrie, Marcus, and Joe joined them.

“Where’s Caspar?” Zoe asked her brother while she leaned into Alfie’s side.

Joe shrugged. “Probably in bed. We’re not attached at the hip, you know,” he said.

“Might as well be,” Marcus added, “Dan and Phil two-point-oh.”

“Oi, we’re not attached,” Dan argued, although he was currently holding Phil’s hand in his lap.

There were some grunts of disbelief until Carrie sighed loudly. “It’s nice out here, isn’t it? No noise, no lights. Peaceful,” she said.

“I’m sure it would be even nicer if we weren’t confined here against our will,” Chris added with an innocent smile, and Louise gave him a sharp look.

“Hey,” said Phil, gently defensive, “We’re making a difference out there now. And we stay here to keep ourselves safe.”

Zoe jumped in. “He’s right. Dan told me Troye talked to him today for a while and told him how he felt. Didn’t he?”

Dan nodded. “He did. He says he owes his life to Phil, Dodie, and me.”

“Does everyone forget we helped?” Marcus said and gave Zoe a high-five. Then he turned to Alfie and said, “I don’t think so.”

Alfie, whose mouth had been open, closed it for a moment. “That’s why.”

Everyone else looked confused. “What?” Chris piped up.

Marcus looked sheepish. “Sorry, the mind reader thing. Alfie was wondering if anyone informed our newest members of the entire rescue mission,” he explained.

“I think that might be overkill,” PJ said, “That’s over now. Dan is home and back in action. Tanya is up and walking around now with some color in her cheeks. I think we should focus on the coming attack.”

“I agree. We need to shift the focus,” Louise said.

Joe looked skeptical. “But we still don’t know-”

Phil suddenly let go of Dan’s hand. “Enough!” he exclaimed, “We are sitting outside, in the summer, on blankets under the stars. I do _not_ want to keep talking about missions and tactics. Can we just… be friends? Play truth or dare, or have a bonfire?”

Everyone just sort of stared. Phil had a very, very good point. Ever since this operation started, all they’ve really talked about as a group is fighting. Eat, train, sleep, repeat. No more games, no more playing around, which was fair considering how much work they had to do and all the pressure they were under. But, realistically, there was always downtime. And they were all still young.

Phil was right. Of course he was.

“Bonfire,” Marcus cleared his throat, “We need something to burn.”

Alfie jumped up, nearly knocking Zoe right on her side. “I’ll go find something,” he declared and jogged towards the gate of the junkyard.

“What are we going to light it with out here?” asked Joe, frowning. Dan simply raised a brow and waited for him to figure it out. Then Joe met his gaze and blushed. “Oh.”

A few minutes later Alfie returned with something over his shoulder. He dropped it in the middle of their circle and crossed his arms smugly. It was an old car seat, from one of the two front ones. The upholstery was grey and fuzzy. “There. How’s that for a bonfire?” he asked, gesturing from Phil to the seat.

Phil just smirked and looked at Dan. The latter rose to his knees and scooted a little closer. All at once heat pooled in the tips if his fingers and they lit up in little blue, but very hot flames. With a flick of his wrist the flames hopped onto the seat, which went up almost immediately. Dan settled back in next to Phil, who looked satisfied.

“There,” Carrie said firmly with a nod of her head, “This is what us young people are supposed to do.”

“We’re missing one thing,” Chris said loudly.

Alfie snapped his fingers. “Wine coolers!”

“Exactly!”

Everyone laughed. There were smiles all around. Zoe asked when the last time anyone had a wine cooler was, and the group broke into stories about first time drunkenness and the like. Dan told them about Alex, his most important ex-girlfriend, and the entire time Phil seemed interested and even sympathetic. The others all told stories of exes and pubescent mistakes as well. The curious questions and the laughter that ensued afterwards distracted them from their impending battle meetings and detail debriefs. For a while, they weren’t a group of young mutants trying to be heroes. They were just young.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise I'm working diligently on this story, even if I'm posting scarcely, because I love it so much and I'm dedicated. I currently do not have an internet connection (THE HORROR) so I have to wait until I get somewhere so I can post. Fair warning, this story will probably be wrapping up in just a few chapters! Stay tuned. Now, have any of you been to TATINOF? I went to one in New York and I swear I've never screamed or cried so much in a theater. :') That concluded today's author's note, I love you.


	17. "Emotional Constipation"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the DC characters of Hawk and Dove, whom I loosely based my main characters on.

Fun couldn't last forever, which was the downfall of most of the moods in the compound. The attack of the Thames Building loomed ever closer, as did the pressure to be better and faster than they were the day before. It seemed that everyone was working around the clock, even the robots in the cafeteria kitchen. Schedules went out the window, but still, everything still seemed to go off on a regular basis without a hitch.

Dan and Phil especially had almost no time to themselves. They slept in the same room every night and used the same bathroom every day, but they didn't have time to talk about anything besides strategy or really touch each other besides with fists and elbows and knees. They succeeded at the little things: hands brushing when they passed in the hallway or while they brushed their teeth, thighs pressed together at the breakfast table, or stolen kisses before bed. They definitely didn't have time to talk about what they were. Were they a couple, boyfriends? Was it a casual thing, or friends with benefits? No one knew, especially not Dan. What he did know was that it was hard to put your heart and soul into a relationship you cared about when you had a race of people to protect.

Pretty early in the day, PJ called the boys down to the poolroom. He said it was urgent, and that he finally had a breakthrough. The two of them headed down to the basement and through the blue tarp. There were PJ and Chris, waiting expectantly. The former especially looked very excited.

Dan was mostly distracted by the yellow school bus still sitting in the empty pool, and by remembering the first time he saw it. How different things were, how different _he_ was. He snapped his attention back around when Phil asked what was up.

"I've finally finished it," PJ declared, gesturing widely to the bus.

Dan raised a brow. "Was it ever unfinished?" he asked.

PJ sighed as if Dan was simple minded, but the over dramatic eye roll told him that it was all for show. "Everything is ready now, I mean. Remote start, tracking devices, thrusters, weapon systems," he explained, thrusting one of his many tablets into Phil's hands, "Go on, press some buttons."

"Weapon systems?" Phil repeated, his fingers hovering over the screen.

Chris's grin widened. "That was my idea. What kind of vehicle toting superheroes doesn't have its own guns? And, well, it's a school bus, innit? Needs to be intimidating somehow!"

Dan nodded in agreement and Phil tapped something on the tablet. The engines started, and they roared like racecars. The dash inside the cab lit up with multiple colored lights, showing that it wasn't your average vehicle dashboard. "Wicked," Dan muttered.

"Right?" added Chris with a triumphant expression.

Phil tapped the screen again and everything turned off. He handed it back to PJ as he spoke again. "I thought it would be a good idea to drive this into London, as opposed to a bunch of junk cars. The windows are tinted, and it'll fit everyone easily."

"Great idea, that'll be perfect," said Phil, "We'll need the element of surprise."

PJ grinned proudly and Dan nodded. "Well done."

Phil was turning to leave, also singing PJ's praises, but Dan grabbed his arm. He stilled instantly. Dan cleared his throat. "Would either of you like to go on the mission? You're both part of the team, but-"

"Don't worry about it, Dan," Chris said, "You don't have to try and include everyone."

He narrowed his eyes a bit. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Alright, look," PJ said, holding up his hands, "No need to get defensive. What he means is there is a lot of us who don't have offensive powers, so we can't be involved in the mission that's just an attack. And while that's _fine_ ," he paused and gave Chris a look, "Some of us do feel left out. But there's not much we can do. At least I'm on mission control."

Dan crossed his arms and looked at Phil. He was looking away pointedly, his hands in his pockets. Dan looked back. "Okay. Well, neither of you answered my question," he said.

"Louise and I will be in headquarters," PJ said.

"And I'll be here, waiting so see how the heroes handle the situation. Because I won't be much help," Chris added, averting his gaze as well.

Dan sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Fine," he muttered, "Good job on the bus, PJ. And to Chris, who probably helped." And he turned and left the room before anyone else could say anything. He heard Phil's footsteps behind him.

They were silent as they walked. After a bit, Phil piped up. "Dan-"

"Did you know they felt that way?" he asked sharply, whirling on his friend.

Phil stopped, his expression slightly pained. "Yes," he said finally.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Dan demanded.

The other pursed his lips and looked down. Dan hadn't seen him in a mood like this since he got out of the labs. "I knew you would react badly. And Peej is right," he added quickly when Dan opened his mouth to interrupt, "The attack plan does leave out a lot of the team, and they're frustrated."

Dan threw his hands in the air, exasperated. "What are we supposed to do, Phil? We were born with powers that we can use to hurt people-" he ignored when Phil winced, "-should we _need_ to, and others weren't! Alfie can lift a car and Marcus can read minds. Physical versus mental is not something we can change, and I'm not going to allow people on the mission who can't defend themselves past was Chapman has taught us. It would be suicide and they would just-"

"Get in the way?" Phil offered, as if he himself were reading Dan's mind.

Dan swallowed. "Without a nicer way to put it, yes. You, me, Alfie, Carrie, Caspar, even Troye. Those are the kind of people who can go into combat. PJ, Chris, Zoe, while they are all important members of the team, their powers won't help them in the field. And it's not my fault, or yours, or Louise's, or whoever it is that they're blaming," he finished.

"Then we need to find something for them to do," Phil said, his voice firmer than Dan had ever heard it, "PJ can build the gadgets, yes. But Chris is bored, so are Emma, and Charlie. The same thing every day would drive anyone crazy."

Dan looked away and ran a hand over his face. On top of planning the invasion, getting in shape, learning to fight, and keeping the heat under control (although now that was like second nature), he hadn't been thinking about those who had their own abilities down but were not being sent on the mission. That alone was a very confusing thought. "I don't know what to do," he admitted, turning back to Phil, "I thought you and I had everything down. Everything was going according to plan. And now we have bored teammates to deal with?"

"It's fair of them to think that way, Dan," said Phil, his tone resilient.

"I understand that. But we're not running a spy agency here, or really running _anything_ that comes with an influx of assignments _._ We're trying to survive and come out of hiding. We're trying to keep the government from experimenting on children. And we are on our way to doing that permanently," he retorted, with a little more attitude than he intended to use.

Phil pinched the bridge of his nose, and then started to walk again. Dan followed, and if smoke could come out of his ears like it did his lungs it probably would be. "You have a good point," Phil said finally as he walked, "But I just hate the idea that there are some of our own that don't understand, you know? We're trying our best, like you said, but I'm really afraid that's not good enough. If this mission goes well… we could have something monumental on our hands."

Honestly, Dan hadn't done much thinking past the attack. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, if we get some rights and proper treatment and end the experiments, then we have a small army of mutants to take care of. Plus, there will probably an exodus of them from all over the country. Do you know about the Americans?" he said, turning to question him.

Dan shook his head. The only thing he knew about the American mutants is that they were held in much higher regard than their British counterparts, and that was coming from the prime minister. Phil continued. "They work strategically with homeland threats, but they run themselves. They must work closely with the FBI or whatever to get their missions, or they wouldn't know anything about it. They call themselves the Trifecta; a trio leads them. Louise and I have been meaning to give them a call… maybe they'll have some insight for us."

Shrugging, Dan put his hands in his pockets. "Maybe we should just survive the next few days before asking another country for advice," he said.

"I brought that point up with her, because I knew it would overwhelm you," said Phil, who reached over and placed his hand on Dan's shoulder, "Don't worry, alright? Everything will be okay."

Dan looked up, cracking a smile, and his frustration was forgotten. "Shouldn't I be consoling you?" he teased. Phil looked confused and Dan put on a pouty face, just for emphasis. "We're trying our best, but maybe that's not good enough," he repeated.

Phil's cheeks colored. "Shut up," he muttered and nearly tripped over a step.

Dan caught his elbow. "Your best is good enough, Phil," he told the other seriously.

Once again smiling at each other, Dan and Phil continued up the stairs to the first floor. They were about to keep going, but the amount of people loitering in the first floor hallway was peculiar enough to make them stop. They wandered over and Dan studied the trainees walking slowly, stalling to look through the gym doors on their right side and then look quickly away. It was like they were all waiting for something.

Dan approached the closest person, a blonde guy in a white t-shirt. Jack Howard. "Hey," he said, but was careful not to touch him to get his attention, "What's going on?"

Jack looked over and gave them an easy smile. "There's some yelling to be heard from the gym there. I have a feeling we're all waiting here to see what comes out," he replied, "And hello, by the way."

"How are you doing?" Phil asked, stepping closer to Dan's side.

"Better," said Jack with a nod, "Louise and I sit down almost every day trying to find me some help. One day she'll make a discovery."

Dan looked puzzled. "Why do you need to discover your help?"

Jack looked down and folded his arms behind his back. "I'm kind of useless, at the moment," he said, but explained as if he didn't mind at all, "My senses are dialed to eleven, including touch. If someone shakes my hand too hard it could seriously hurt. And while I don't bruise any easier than, say, a teenage girl with anemia, my pain receptors still fire off the charts. While I can deal with wearing clothes and blankets, that's just mild, something like a punch would probably knock me out with how much pain it would cause."

Dan chewed his lip. He couldn't have imagined how much pain Jack went through with MI5, even during the rescue. There had been shoving involved. He tilted his head. "So, does that mean you have super hearing? So you know what's going on here, don't you?" he mused, nodding towards the gym entrance.

Jack just smirked. "Wait for it…"

And then the door burst open, because Jim Chapman had shoved it. And he sure looked angry. So angry, in fact, that he didn't take notice to the other students hanging around. "I don't know what you want from me," he growled, turning on his heel to face the door.

Then a woman walked out after him, looking equally as furious. "How about a little recognition? You don't even look at me when I walk by you in the hallway!" she exclaimed, gesturing wildly with one arm.

Jim pinched the bridge of his nose. "Tanya-"

"No!" cried Tanya Burr, holding up her hand between them, "No more of your excuses! You spent all that time in the lab getting me to trust you, to _like_ you, and now it's like I don't exist. I'm done with your… your…" She paused, shaking her head as she searched for words. "Emotional constipation! You either care for me or you don't!"

Jim looked irritated, but he also looked like she had him and he knew it. Dan pursed his lips, knowing he was inappropriately excited by this but damn; they didn't get drama like this around here.

The former agent spoke up again. "It's a little complicated, Tan," he muttered, looking down at the tile floor.

Tanya scoffed, running a hand through her auburn hair. "Oh no, mister big strong government agent can't handle real feelings so he's just going to shove them aside. He can't stand knowing that someone else knows his secrets. I am _not_ a mission, Jim!" she shouted, and that seemed to sting as Jim flinched as if she had hit him, "Talk to me when you figure yourself out, because I'm done with the games."

And then she was stomping towards the staircase, and Dan figured out that he was still standing in front of it. He grabbed Phil's arm and yanked him out of the way, allowing Tanya to storm by and up the steps. The boys exchanged a look before they glanced Jim's way. All he did was glower at the onlookers, and then march the other way. Once it was over, everyone started to disperse, but Jack just let out a content sigh.

"Glad that's over," he said, "That's been brewing ever since Tanya woke up. I think she might be suffering from Stockholm syndrome." Dan and Phil must have looked as confused as they felt, because Jack explained. "Chapman was one of the agents who was around when they did experiments on us. He always looked uncomfortable, but sometimes he couldn't even watch when they did something to Tanya. He spent a lot of time talking to her in the meantime. I always thought it was because she was the only woman in his assignment and he felt bad, but… I guess not."

Phil blinked. "Wow."

"This may sound rude but I _live for this_ ," Dan said, grasping Phil's arm in excitement. This was like a soap opera within their own walls, and it sort of relieved a bit of his stress to watch someone else's problems, even if that didn't really make sense to anyone but him.

Jack just shook his head. "It is rather dramatic. I should probably go talk to Tanya, if she hasn't blended into the wall already," he said and excused himself, following in Tanya's footsteps up the stairs.

Dan and Phil turned to each other. "Well, today's been eventful," said the latter, running his hand over his face.

Dan nodded, frowning. Something that Tanya shouted at Jim sort of stuck in his head. "Do you think we're emotionally constipated, Phil?"

He raised a brow. "I'm not even sure what that means, to be honest," he replied.

"Well, like, we're keeping things bottled inside. Because we're busy, you know?" Dan said.

"You think we're not talking enough," Phil stated, a small smile growing on his face.

Dan shrugged sheepishly. "Maybe. We spend most of our time together, but it's not like we're ever really alone," he explained, "And when we are alone at night, we're too exhausted."

Phil sighed and nodded. "I don't know what we can do about that. It's funny, we're top authority yet we can't really control everything, can we?" he muttered.

Dan shook his head in agreement. He looked down at where Phil had his hands in his pockets, a dark tablet held loosely in between his arm and his hip. No messages, no calls. It seemed they had that very moment free. And instead of practicing, Dan suddenly had a better idea.

"Come on," he said, grasping Phil's elbow, "I have something to show you."

Phil followed without question, and Dan led him past the gymnasium to the main staircase. Down they went to the basement, to where Dan first found himself in the facility, and down towards the music room. He opened the door and showed Phil inside; Dan glad the place didn't quite smell like dust anymore. He had taken it upon himself to dust every now and then to try and encourage the recruits to use it more.

"What's this?" Phil asked.

Dan just gave him a smile and pulled up a chair next to the piano bench. Dan sat down. "Take a look through those drawers," he said, nodding to the filing cabinets on the far wall, "Find some music you like."

Phil smiled and went over to open one of the cabinets, digging into the books of sheet music. "I didn't know you played, Dan," he commented.

"I guess it's never come up. It's quiet, I spend a lot of alone time here," he responded breezily.

Phil nodded and pulled out a sheet of music. Dan craned his head to try and see it, but he couldn't read the title until it was placed in front of him. Phil sat down in the chair as he read, " _The Phantom of the Opera?_ "

"Yeah," Phil replied, "It's a great musical. This duet is so romantic!"

Dan gave him a look. "I'm a piano player, not a singer."

"I'm neither of those things, but I still love this song," the other said with a hopeful smile.

Dan smiled back and turned to the piano. He played Phil's song choice, without the words, but tried to fill in the notes anyway to make it sound like it would on stage. Halfway through the song, Phil scooted just a bit closer to lay his head on Dan's shoulder. Dan's heart leapt, and he was so distracted he missed a key. He stopped playing and Phil lifted his head.

"What?" he asked.

"I, er," Dan cleared his throat, "I messed up."

"Oh. I didn't even notice," said Phil. Dan looked at his lap and Phil reached over to grasp one of the hands still sitting on the piano keys. "You play really well," he added.

Dan blushed, and as Phil leaned over to kiss his cheek, Dan was about to say something in reply. The kiss landed right on his upper lip. They both jumped apart, surprised by the contact, but then they smiled and leaned back in. It was nice, to just sit and kiss. Still, through the sliding lips and pressing tongues and knocking teeth, there was still a little nagging voice in the back of Dan's head. He wished he could incinerate it but it was giving him even more anxiety than he already had, and this was not something he wanted to be anxious about.

"What are we?" Dan blurted before he could stop himself, after pulling away.

Phil's brow creased. "What do you mean?"

Dan sighed. "I mean, _what_ are we? We've kissed quite a few times by now, and I made you a promise that we would be a team. Now we're a duo, yes, but are we, like, together? You know, _together_ together?"

He looked down, and his hair fell in front of his eyes so Dan couldn't make out his expression. He waited anxiously. Phil raised his hand. "I think we should be b-"

The door slammed open, cutting off Phil's statement. It was Zoe, and she was red in the face and panting, but besides that she also looked horrified. Dan and Phil exchanged a look. "What is it?" the former asked worriedly, previous anxiety forgotten.

Zoe sucked in a breath before she spoke. "Louise has the news on in the office and… it's terrible, come on!" she said, waving for them to follow her. Without asking any more questions they jogged after her and all the way up to the office.

As they walked in, Louise waved them over. "You need to see this," she said.

"What is it?" said Phil, sounding a little exasperated.

Louise reached forward and turned up the volume on her computer. There was a video paused on the screen. As soon as Dan and Phil were gathered around, she pressed play.

The video was of a woman in the back of a press van. The words that scrolled at the bottom of the screen told them her name was Melissa Potter. She was a reporter. "After several nights of strange attacks all around the city, London is currently under siege. A number of wolf-like beings are loose in the city center and along the Thames River, terrorizing infrastructure and citizens alike. The conditions are currently so dangerous we are forced to stay inside the news van- ah!" The camera shuttered and the reporter clung to the sides of the van, as if it were being knocked around. In one of the windows, something brown and furry appeared. Something with claws.

Dan's heart lurched. "Oh my god."

"The agents," Phil said breathlessly, "Dan's blood…"

"Precisely," Louise added as she turned off the feed, "Dan's blood did something to force a mutation that increased animalistic tendencies. The fur, teeth, and claws… I think those are on purpose."

Both Dan and Phil snapped their heads in her direction. "What?" they chorused.

Louise sighed. "I was on call with Marzia, who studied your blood, and she said there was no way that it could have made these people practically werewolves. However, there was a possibility that it would make them act like it. That must have been what happened. These agents no longer have any idea who they are."

Phil sucked his teeth and Dan said, "So, what? MI5 let a bunch of test tube werewolves out to destroy London?"

"That, or internet speculation says they escaped and the other agents can't possibly catch them," Zoe chimed in, her fingers flying over the screen of a tablet, "I'm talking to Felix right now. I'll let you know when he finds the real reason."

Dan made a noise of frustration similar to a growl, and Phil reached over to squeeze his arm. "They had to know this would happen," the taller one said, "The people who are born with mutations have problems controlling them, how did anyone expect some regular guys to do it?"

"We have to stop them before someone dies," Dan said firmly, "Because if that happens and we did nothing to stop it, it happened because of us."

Louise nodded. "What do you want to do?"

"Get on the PA and call in the first and second tiers of the team. Get the vehicles warmed up. We're going to London," Phil supplied. Everyone but Louise was on their feet, while she doled out comm devices to the three others in the room. The PA system was lit up beside her, ready to be used.

Dan nodded along in agreement. "Add that they should come dressed. Everyone except the recruits have something to wear, right?" he said.

"Correct," Louise replied.

"Excellent."

Phil turned. "Zoe-"

"On it," she said, and jogged forward for the staircase. As the one with the tablet, she was in charge of contacting PJ, wherever he was. She also had the direct line to Felix, who was probably the only one who could get all the information about the situation. Former agents or not, these things were dangerous and if currently bipedal MI5 agents couldn't subdue them then they needed help. Rights or no, loss of life would not be on their hands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter did not turn out as well as I hoped... eh.


	18. "Fire and brimstone"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the DC characters of Hawk and Dove, whom I loosely based my main characters on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the beginning of the end.

There was a new gadget on Dan’s combat suit. A tiny panel with three buttons: _start, stop,_ and _call._ He just sort of stared at it as he and Phil hurried towards the yard. Phil had one too. He wasn’t sure what the buttons were for, but he was a little afraid to press them. Just in case, Louise would say.

The PA system was on repeating Louise’s message over and over all across their building. _This is an emergency. Tiers one and two please report to training gym one for debriefs, ready for combat. All recruits are to remain in their rooms and wait for further instructions._ So, it was safe to say that people were running around everywhere without being really sure what was happening. Only the four of them who saw the news reports were in on the problem at that moment.

Louise and PJ were waiting outside. The bus was parked in the circular driveway. They looked over when Dan and Phil arrived. “What’s happening?” PJ asked quickly.

“We don’t know anything beyond wolf hybrids terrorizing London. Zoe is telling the team about what’s going on, and after that we’re all leaving. We’re going to stop those things before they can kill people, if they haven’t already,” Phil replied, pulling on his sleeve, “Once we get there, we’ll just have to subdue them all somehow. I don’t think trying to kill them would be the best way to go.”

“Why not?” PJ asked.

Dan frowned. “Well, they were people once, weren’t they? Those people could still be in there before they were forced to change,” he said.

“So we’ll have to knock them out,” Phil finished.

“How are you doing that?” Louise asked.

Phil looked Dan. The latter said, “We were hoping you had an idea.”

She looked at PJ. He shook his head, and then something beeped on his tablet. “It’s Felix,” he said, waving Dan and Phil over. They stood beside him and answered the call.

“Hello, Hawk and Dove,” said Felix, his voice sounding much cheerier than his face expressed.

“Felix, what’s happening?” Dan asked quickly.

“Dr. Pentland and the people of the internet were correct in their assumptions. Dan’s blood caused the agents to mutate into animalistic versions of themselves, but the fur and claws and whatnot were add-ons by Page’s special project. It’s a huge conspiracy,” said the former agent, waving his hand, “The new mutations weren’t quite what Page wanted, but since that’s what he got they had to roll with it. They turned those agents into monsters to be set free – even if a couple at a time – for the enhanced agents that they _could_ control to capture, to make Page’s army of manufactured mutants look like they’re capable of defending the country. But they got out, and Page’s mutants are too small in number to stop them.”

“He’s such an idiot,” said Louise, who was standing just behind Phil.

“You can say that again,” Felix agreed, “So what’s your plan? You’re coming to take care of everything?”

“We have to try. Even if we have no idea how to stop them,” Dan said.

Felix looked pensive for a few moments. Then he snapped his fingers. “I have an idea. Meet me at the Thames Building, bring as many as you want. I’ll see you soon.”

“Felix, wait, what’s your-” But he was gone before Dan could get the rest of his question out. He looked at the others. “Looks like we’ll have to trust him,” he said.

Phil nodded. “I trust him.”

“Me too,” Louise added and then looked at her watch, “Where is everyone? We have a city to save!”

She hurried back into the building, leaving the boys alone. “Hey,” said PJ, “Did you notice your upgrades?”

“Our what?” Phil asked and Dan looked at his cuff. The buttons looked back.

PJ grinned. “Press the button that says call on it. Go on,” he said, and was nearly jumping with excitement.

Dan and Phil exchanged a look and then pressed the buttons at the same time. For a few beats there was only silence, and then the distance hum of engines. Two motorbikes came tearing around a corner towards them, roaring in tandem and then coming to a halt beside the boys. They were the same bikes to the one Phil crashed in the junkyard, just shinier with little screens on the front. Helmets hung from a handlebar on each one.

“Any command you could possibly need is programmed in. They will only start at your touch or if you press the start button. The call button will bring them to you, and I think you understand the stop button,” PJ said with a wide grin, “These will allow the two of you to go on ahead of the rest, and meet Felix at the Thames Building. Plus, aren’t they cool?”

Dan climbed onto the bike closest to him and revved the engine. It _was_ cool. Since Phil’s crash, PJ had them out testing the prototypes in the meantime. It had been a while, but Dan had no idea he had finished them.

“And they’re fully functional?” Phil asked.

“Completely,” PJ replied, “I promised I would have them ready for the mission. Our mission’s changed as of now, but we’re still going in.”

Dan smiled just a bit and reached over to clap PJ on the shoulder. “I don’t know if I’ve ever told you. If we’ve ever told you,” he said, glancing towards Phil for a moment, “Thank you, PJ. For making our lives easier.”

“We’d never make it without you,” Phil added with a warm smile.

PJ’s cheeks colored and he looked down at the ground. He cleared his throat and then lifted his head again. He didn’t say it, but they understood what the thank you meant to him. “Helmets on, boys. The people of London need you.”

* * *

 

The roads leading into the city were barren. However, there was major traffic going out. According to Louise over comm, a state of emergency was declared and people were being evacuated. There was even a perimeter to prevent anyone from going into the unsafe area. That was going to be a dilemma.

The perimeter began once they crossed the bridge. Two motorbikes roared to a halt before a line of police tape, and a big yellow school bus behind them. Dan and Phil climbed down onto their feet and removed their helmets. No time to make a plan or find an entrance on the small hope that somewhere was unguarded. They were doomed to try and talk their way in.

The boys shared a look. “Diplomacy,” said Phil.

“Irony,” Dan retorted. A month ago he had wanted nothing more than to get out of London.

They approached the tape. The officers on the other side looked rather dumbfounded as two young men in black, one-piece suits approached them.

“We hear you have a pest problem,” said Dan to the nearest policeman.

He looked back impassively, most of his expression hidden by dark sunglasses. “We’ve got it under control,” he replied.

Louise chimed in over their comms. “No, they don’t.”

“No, you don’t,” Phil said calmly, “Those things are lab experiments gone wrong from the prime minister’s _very_ _secret special program_ that he hid from everyone. Any units you have after them will get hurt or worse.”

“Maybe eaten,” Dan added.

The other nodded once in agreement. “Maybe eaten. You have to let us in, we are the only ones strong enough to subdue the wolves,” he concluded. That was most likely true, although they still had no idea how they were going to stop them. Felix was kind of their lifeline for this.

A lady stepped up, clutching a radio. “We can’t let anyone in, especially some kids, even with claims of being strong,” she said firmly.

Dan and Phil looked at each other, at a loss. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of this before. Obviously there was no way to cross the river in time. Then Marcus spoke in their ears.

“That lady there’s the captain,” he said. Dan looked back. Marcus was standing at the front of the bus, beside Chris who was in the driver’s seat. “If you can convince her, the rest of them will have to let us in.”

Both the boys gave tiny nods, unnoticed by the others behind the tape. They both thought very quickly at what to do while the captain just sort of stared at them expectantly, when the bus doors opened. A girl hopped out, and she brushed her purple hair off her forehead while she approached. Dan and Phil took a step back.

Emma Blackery crossed her arms and evened her stare with the officers. “You’re going to let us in, but make sure anyone else stays out,” she said, calmly but very clearly.

Dan’s heart leapt as the captain nodded once. She then gave the command to the rest of the officers. There were questions of dissent, but ultimately they really had no choice. The tape was removed and the cruisers were started up and then driven out of the way for the bus. Emma smirked while they waited, standing between the boys.

“Well done, Blackery,” said Dan. He should probably be more conscious of the range of abilities they had on their side. He should have brought Emma out at the start.

She shrugged. “We have no time to waste,” she declared and then headed back for the bus.

“She has a point,” Phil said as the two of them donned their helmets and headed back for their bikes.

Dan nodded and revved his engine. “We really ought to commit some sort of list to memory, eh?” he said.

Phil lifted a shoulder. “We can add that to our to-dos once we get out of here,” he replied. Dan nodded once in agreement and heard Phil give the okay through his comm, and then they were off again into the city.

Once the Thames Building loomed into his view, Dan’s heart rate started to increase and anxiety bloomed cold as ice in his chest. The memories of being shocked, stuck with needles, and slowly running out of air were brought to the forefront of his mind. He didn’t want to go back, perhaps the last thing he wanted to do for the rest of his life was go back into the Thames Building. He glanced at Phil quickly. His expression was set and determined, confident, and Dan decided right then he would leech some of that confidence. If he pretended he was ready, he would eventually become ready, right? That was his plan anyway. If Phil were there, Dan would be fine.

“Felix is around at the back gate, towards the lab entrance,” PJ said in Dan’s ear.

“Great,” he muttered and sped around the corner, taking the familiar route that was unfortunately burned into his memory.

They stopped right outside the gate, at which Felix Kjellberg was standing in the open space. The door to the guard’s booth was hanging open, but when Dan and Phil climbed off their bikes, left their helmets, and walked over they discovered no one was inside. Mostly everything was quiet, as a matter of fact. Felix waved as they approached.

“Glad you could make it,” he said and offered each of them a fist bump.

“So, what is this about?” Dan asked.

Felix beckoned for them to follow, and then led them into the parking lot. It didn’t look like they would be going inside at all. A black car was parked in a place that was definitely not a parking spot. The back end was already open, and inside were numerous black cases. Dan and Phil watched curiously as Felix went over to one and unlatched it, showing them what was inside. Two large weapons were pressed into foam lining, looking rather gun-ish.

“These are sound cannons,” the agent told the boys, picking one out, “Turned up all the way, they’ll make a human go deaf or pass out if hit. Completely non-lethal and ought to be just what you’re looking for.”

The boys remained silent, mystified, as he placed that case before them and opened another. “These are tranquilizers, with darts that could put a horse to sleep. With a couple of these, those wolf things will be out like lights. The other cases have more of these and also some trip wires and whatnot. I didn’t know how much you needed.”

Dan blinked. Phil said, “You didn’t give us a whole lot of time to tell you.”

Felix shrugged. “No time to waste. So, how many _do_ you need?” he said.

Phil looked at Dan, and he looked back. Then they looked to Felix. “Hold that thought,” Dan said and turned to jog back to the bus. He knocked on the glass of the door, and Chris opened it for him. He climbed up and stood before everyone. Joe shouted from the back, asking what they were going to do.

Dan cleared his throat. “Alright, here’s the plan,” he began. Time to make it up on the spot. “A friend of ours has provided us with government grade weapons. Anyone who doesn’t have some sort of projectile power will get one, you know who you are, and _everyone_ gets a tranquilizer gun. We are _not_ going to kill these things, everyone understand? They were people once. If you happen to find one, shoot it with darts until it falls and then… we will let you know.”

“How will you do that?” asked Troye Sivan from the front seat.

Dan pointed to his own ear. “The ear pieces, they’re for communication. Press to talk, release to listen. Like walkie-talkies. However, watch what you say all the time, Louise and PJ back at headquarters can always hear you and have a direct line to the lot of us,” he instructed.

Tanya Burr’s hand went into the air. “Are we splitting up?” she asked.

“Yes, into small teams.”

“What if we’re outnumbered?” Caspar chimed in.

Dan sucked his teeth. “We _are_ outnumbered.”

Everyone looked apprehensive, and started to chatter amongst themselves. Dan huffed and waved his hand. “Look, I know this isn’t much of a plan, but this is _it,_ guys. This is what Jim, Phil, me, and the rest of the upper tier have been preparing you for. We _will_ win. The entire city of London needs us. So are you going to keep asking questions, or are you going to go get your guns?” he said, pointing towards the door.

The first person to get up was Zoe. She gave him a smile, and then slowly everyone else rose to their feet as well. Dan nodded once. “Good,” he said. He hurried out of the bus and led the line of his teammates behind him towards Felix and his cases of weapons.

Dan informed him of their numbers, and like an assembly line the weapons were doled out. Everyone got tranquilizers and trip wire, while those like Chris and Zoe got sound cannons as well. There was lots of chatter: nervousness mostly, but also confidence. If this mission succeeded, it could put them on the map. No more discrimination, and maybe they could actually be allowed to help people.

The teams were divided up a little haphazardly, as they had to account for certain powers. Dan and Phil led a team consisting of Zoe, Joe, and Marcus (they ignored suggestions for the duo to be split up). Alfie took point on another that brought Felix with them, and Charlie and Carrie led the other two. They fanned out from the Thames Building, since the creatures had originated from there anyway.

“So,” Joe said, rather loudly, “What do we do first?”

Phil pressed a finger to his ear. “Do you have a visual anywhere, Louise?” he asked. There was silence as he listened to her answer. “She says the police cameras are all blank. The authorities did a good job clearing everyone or getting them somewhere safe.”

“I suppose the first thing we do is find one of the creatures,” said Dan.

“Or an MI5 agent,” Zoe added.

He sighed anxiously. “Or that.”

It felt like they walked for hours, but for some reason none of them thought to bring something to tell the time. Every now and then Louise or PJ will update them on the other teams. Carrie’s team found a creature dead by a theater in the West End, and narrowly missed being shot by the agents who killed it. Apparently the enhanced agents are still under the impression that all mutants should be taken into custody. With all their own problems, everyone forgot about the laws that still ruled over their kind. Alfie and Charlie’s teams crossed paths in a department store and ended up tranquilizing a couple agents, but none of the creatures appeared. It seemed to Dan is if their team was the only one without something to do.

They walked in pairs, with Marcus in the rear whistling. He stopped at one point to look in a bookstore window. “They have some interesting things on display here,” he pointed at a white cover with red letters, “ _Forget Me Not: A Guide to Healing Retrograde Amnesia._ Doesn’t that sound like an interesting read?”

“Yeah, almost as much as _Everybody Poops_ ,” Joe replied with a chuckle.

“That’s a classic!” Zoe argued.

Dan was about to say they should keep moving when Phil joined the conversation. “Retrograde. That’s a fun word,” he chirped.

Marcus perked up. “Hey, that’s something that happens to the mind. Maybe my nickname should be Retrograde,” he said.

“Better than the one you have now,” added Dan, resting his tranquilizer gun on his shoulder.

“I’m keeping it then.”

Everyone agreed and then Dan waved his hand. “Come on, we have to keep going,” he said, “All those creatures are somewhere, and I have a very eerie feeling.”

Phil stood beside him once more to continue down the pavement. Everyone else fell into line, and Marcus started to whistle again. “Oi, we should go into a McDonald’s or something. No one will be in there, and free food,” Joe said.

“We can’t,” Zoe argued, “That’s stealing, and our very existence is already against the law.”

“No one will know-”

Suddenly their comms started to screech like a microphone being too close to the receiver. They all cringed and Joe even wrenched his out, but then Carrie’s voice filtered in. “Can you hear me, Dan? Anyone? Please work, _please.”_

“Siren, we can hear you,” Phil said, his voice pinched.

“Thank God! We’ve been ambushed, there’s a whole pack of them! One of them landed on a car and it exploded, I hoped they hadn’t destroyed my comm-”

“Pack of what?” Dan demanded sharply.

“The creatures!” she replied shrilly, “That’s why we couldn’t find any, they were all traveling together.”

Zoe swore, earning a stunned look from her brother. “Of course. Like wolves, they’re pack animals.”

“Where are you?” asked Dan.

“Trafalgar Square!”

“That’s a few blocks away,” Marcus said.

“Hold them off, Carrie,” Phil said and they started to run down the street, “We’ll be right there.”

Dan still held his finger to his ear. A headache bloomed behind his left eye. “Smash your comm, it’s not working well enough and it’s giving us massive feedback,” he informed her.

“Okay,” Carrie replied, and the next second there was silence.

They ran for a while before anyone spoke. “This isn’t going to be pretty,” said Marcus.

“We know,” Phil responded gravely. He glanced sideways at Dan. “Just don’t die.”

Dan avoided his look. They both knew it if it was between himself and anyone else, that person was going to live. “If you get hurt, walk it off,” he said simply.

Joe scoffed. “This isn’t primary school sport!” But no one else argued. Joe ran ahead at his top speed to sentry for them, and Marcus was right when he said it wasn’t going to be pretty.

Trafalgar Square was a mess. And the agent-wolf-creatures were much larger and faster than Dan imagined. They ran quick like cats away from and towards his teammates, and they gave chase as if it was a game. Jim was on top of a lion statue trying to get a good shot at any of the animals as they fought his squad members, but it was hard with how fast they moved. At the base there were about six Troyes confusing the hell out of another creature, but he seemed to be without a gun. Somewhere Carrie screamed, her only real weapon; she must be fighting another one, or more. Dan couldn’t say how many there actually were.

“I can still see in their heads,” Marcus said, though his voice was strained, “It’s madness. They only have base instincts; all their human thoughts are gone. They mainly need to hunt.”

“That’s horrible,” Zoe said, her eyes trained on the fight before her.

Dan and Phil exchanged a look. “You both need to go and help. We’re going to formulate a plan,” said Phil.

They both muttered yes-sirs and took off into the square with guns drawn. The boys looked at each other.

“What do we do?” Dan asked.

“I don’t know,” Phil replied.

“Me neither.”

“There are so many. They’re wasting darts.”

Dan chewed his lip. “We need to get them in one place. If they don’t end up dead, they’re going back to MI5. Even if they _do_ end up dead they’re going back.”

“Agreed,” said his partner. He bounced on the balls of his feet and groaned. “I wish we had a giant cage!”

Dan’s eyes widened as a memory suddenly flashed into his head. He remembered watching Phil when he first tried on his combat suit, when the walls of the gym froze over and curved near the ceiling. Now that he thought about it, the structure looked sort of like a bowl. A bowl that could be just the right size for a pack of giant wolves.

“Do you have an idea?” Phil asked, noting his expression.

“Yes,” Dan said, placing one of his hands on Phil’s arm, “Could you possibly stand by one of the fountains and _create_ a giant cage?”

His eyes darted towards the closest fountain. It was still full of water. “It’s an odd shape, but the water will make it easier,” he replied.

“Can you make ice that would hold those things?” Dan continued.

Phil’s worried expression quickly morphed into one of determination. “I can,” he said firmly.

Dan gave him a proud smile. “I knew you could. All we have to do is drive them into the fountain, and someone should be able to dart them from there,” he said.

“Brilliant,” Phil said with a smile of his own, “I’ll let everyone who still has a comm know.”

“I’ll go and help, and spread the news.” Dan was about to take off, but Phil grabbed his arm. “What?”

Phil didn’t say anything and pulled Dan right in for a kiss. His lips seared, radiating heat and steam as the cold met the hot. Neither of them had been monitoring their temperatures all that well while their focus was elsewhere, and now their bodies reacted as if it were months ago. Dan reached up to cup Phil’s face with both his hands, and the other boy didn’t cringe or shy away. They both knew it had to end before either of them was ready.

Dan opened his eyes. “Phil, I…”

“I know,” he nodded, “Now, go!”

And Dan did. He ran into the fray, looking for someone to help. He knew Carrie’s comm was damaged, but he didn’t know how many of them had also been affected. He decided to approach Troye first… or well, one of them. They were still closing in on one of the creatures, which kept swiping at the clones with its claws and growling when they passed right through.

“Troye!” Dan shouted.

They all looked his way, but only one of them raised his hand to wave. The real Troye was on the other side of the circle. The creature snarled and turned in circles in the center. Dan ignored it.

“Try to get it towards the fountain,” he continued, pointing towards where he left Phil, “Dove is going to trap them all!” Troye nodded and gave him two thumbs up. He looked up to where Jim was still standing on top of the lion statue, looking like he was snarling himself. “Chapman!” Dan called.

“What?” the agent called back.

“Listen, we have a plan-”

“I know,” Jim interrupted, “I still have a device.”

“Then I have a special job for you. Once someone gets a creature in Dove’s containment, I want you to tranquilize it,” Dan told him.

Jim faltered just a bit. “I don’t have enough darts to get them all,” he said, “Even with help.”

Dan unstrapped his own tranquilizer gun from around his torso and tossed it up towards Jim. He quickly reached out to grab it. “There. If you need more, let me know. I’ll be fine,” Dan said. Jim gave him a nod and Dan continued on his way.

On the other side of the stone in the center of the square was even more. Carrie and Joe were backing three of the monsters into a corner, which Dan could tell right away was a _very bad_ idea. He noticed Tanya blinked in and out sight around them, trying to tell the other two where to push them and keep out of the creatures’ periphery. They were going to spring at any second.

Before Dan could call out, it happened. Thinking fast, Dan threw his hands out. Heat swirled in the air from his limbs and past Carrie and Joe, then lit into a wall of flame between them and their attackers. The creatures faltered and whimpered, no doubt getting singed and burned as they were in mid jump.

“Dan!” Carrie shouted in relief.

He could hardly spare her a glance or he would lose focus. He could tell that her top was in shreds, baring her stomach, which was scratched and bloody. “Hi there,” he said.

“You have a plan?” said Joe, suddenly appearing at his side so he didn’t have to shout.

Warm breeze flowed from the fire towards them. Dan breathed it in, felt it feed his own fire, and it took a lot of will power to keep it from just swallowing him. He could see black smoke. It was filtering out of his nose and his mouth. “Yes,” he replied, “Get them to Phil. He’s caging them in ice.”

He heard running footsteps, and he could see Tanya appear out of breath on his right side. “How are we doing that?” she asked, her chest heaving.

Dan swallowed, and then breathed out a puff of smoke. Flames licked the sky, almost as high as the building behind them. “I’m going to let go and the fire will disappear. Carrie, you ought to drive them around towards Phil. You’ll be able to see what to do after that. Joe, you can use that sound cannon.” They nodded. “And Tanya. Look around for more, they could be on the prowl outside the square.”

“Got it,” she replied with her own nod.

“On three. One… two… three!” Dan dropped his arms and at the same time the fire snuffed out in a gust of warm air. The creatures quickly caught on and started to growl again, but Joe had already scooped Carrie up into his arms and ran behind them. Carrie opened her mouth and screamed, and Joe produced his cannon and turned it on. Dan covered his ears, and the creatures started to wine and shy away from the onslaught of sound. Tanya was already gone. Dan turned and started to run, ready to find others.

He could barely register what was happening before something large knocked him painfully onto his front. He cringed and pressed his palms to the pavement to look up. One of those three creatures had chased him as he ran, and it was now before him, growling and stalking closer. Carrie yelled something while Dan stared at it, but he just held up one of his hands to tell her that he had this one.

The creature snapped its jaw. Heat pooled in Dan’s palms, causing the air around him to shimmer. All he had to do was run fast enough so that it didn’t catch him again and get it to the other side to Phil. He hoped he was now in good enough shape to do that. Dan jumped to his feet, and the creature growled threateningly. It stalked ever closer. The back of Dan’s head throbbed. As he backed up slowly, he touched the spot. His hand came back red and shiny with blood. The claws must have caught him when it knocked him down. The sight of the blood seemed to spur the creature on, and it started to run at him. Dan whirled and sprinted around towards Phil.

He could hear growling and panting and the bounding of its feet as the creature pursued him. It was almost right on top of him already. Needing to buy time, Dan pressed his palms together, and when he pulled them apart a ball of flame grew between them. He turned for only a moment to throw it at the creature. The fire caught its front feet, and it yowled and stumbled, giving Dan time to gain some distance. He rounded a corner, and Phil’s ice came into view.

It was magnificent. It did look like a giant bowl, swallowing the entire oddly shaped fountain. The cold radiated from it, and Dan could already feel it as he approached at a run. It glistened in the sun, and a blurry Phil could be seen on the other side through the translucent ice. His arms were raised, keeping it strong. There was already a handful of brown blurs inside the bowl, where tranquilized creatures had been placed. Their plan was working and that gave Dan a blossom of hope that they could do this.

Then there was a gunshot, then another. Actual gunshots. A bullet whizzed past Dan’s ear and caught his creature in the shoulder. It fell on one leg, whimpering. He looked around Phil’s ice structure, and a group of agents in black suits were approaching, guns drawn.

Furious, Dan stormed over. “What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded, his assailant forgotten and bleeding.

“Our jobs,” answered the man in the front.

“Your jobs should be alerting the military or something. Or maybe shutting down the mutant experimentation program considering it created those things,” he snarled, gesturing towards the tranquilized monsters.

The agent shook his head. “You and your buddies have no clearance to be here,” he said evenly, “Our mission is to-”

Dan clenched his fists, which promptly caught fire. “ _Your mission_ should be to protect your country. That’s what MI5 is supposed to do, isn’t it? We are here doing what you couldn’t. If any of you shoot a gun again I will see to it that you’re all strapped to tables and turned into bonfires,” he seethed, and then turned away to go back to his own job.

When the creature caught sight of Dan again, it seemed to forget that it had been shot and started to focus on him again. Dan supposed that the hunt was on, and it was set on him now. He was in too deep. He curved around to stand in front of the ice structure. “Come and get me!” he called, jumping up and down. That made the gash on his head throb. He peeked around at Phil.

His nose was bleeding. He was overexerting himself.

“Phil!” Dan gasped.

His gaze moved, and he shook his head. “Dan, I’m fine.”

“You’re bleeding!”

“You are too!” Phil retorted, “I’m going to give that thing an opening to jump through and you’re going to move out of the way at the last minute.”

Dan nodded mutely. Phil licked blood from his upper lip and focused again on his ice. Dan turned to face the creature, but then it wasn’t there. Fear sparked in his chest. _Oh no._

Again, too fast for him to realize it, the creature was on him, knocking him down onto his back. His head ricocheted off the pavement painfully, causing him to see stars, while the creature held him down and snarled above him. Claws pressed into Dan’s chest and neck. _Fuck,_ that hurt. Phil was yelling something, saying he would come help.

“No!” Dan shouted breathlessly, “I can do it!”

He swiped his hand at the creature’s muzzle, lit with heat, causing just enough pain to allow Dan to wiggle out and back up to his feet. He started to run again when the creature snapped its jaws around Dan’s right leg. He cried out and fell again, the pain blinding him from thought. The creature pulled and tossed its head, sending Dan careening into a parked car. He smashed into the side and the alarm started to go off. He fought to keep his eyes open as everything hurt. It was gone again. Then the growling came back, and he saw that it was on top of the car, crushing it beneath its weight. The beeping stopped the hood popped. He was vaguely aware of a plane shooting across the sky above them, right behind the creature’s head. Were they finally getting military help?

To hell with not killing it, this son of a bitch had it coming, Dan thought furiously. Phil was yelling again, but Dan trusted he knew not to leave the other monsters without proper containment. This thing definitely wouldn’t let him go until one of them was dead. Dan sniffed; a smell was wafting towards him. Gasoline. The car was leaking.

He turned his head. He could see the fuel running along the road. This was it, then. He supposed it was only fit for someone like him to go out in fire and brimstone.

“Dan, don’t do it!” Phil cried. Of course he could practically read Dan’s mind. Others had gathered around, watching in fear. Some of them were bleeding, limping, and they all looked filthy in torn clothes. He supposed Jim couldn’t get a clear shot over the ice. No one seemed to know what to do.

Dan looked at Phil, passed a glance over his friends once, and lit the tips of his fingers. Then he flicked them towards the gas, sending the flames dancing over the spill and towards the car. Just as expected, it exploded.


	19. "Origin Story"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own the DC characters of Hawk and Dove, whom I loosely based my main characters on.

When Dan came to, he recognized the inside of a hospital room. It was not the infirmary at his facility, nor was he dead. Then it all came back to him: the creatures, Trafalgar Square, the explosion. And he bolted upright.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” said a voice beside him over the obnoxious beeping of a heart monitor.

Dan looked over, not settling back down. It was a woman he didn’t recognize. She wasn’t dressed like a nurse, in fact she wore a plaid shirt and jeans and a beanie. Her hair was blonde and cropped short, save for the fringe that hung nearly to her chin. Dan tried to place her, but couldn’t. “Who…?” he started, but his throat ached and he stopped.

“Take it easy, tiger,” she said with an American accent, gently placing her hand on his shoulder and easing him back down on the bed, “You’re pretty banged up. Your leg was bitten right through to the bone, your clavicle and a couple ribs are broken, and you lost a lot of blood from your head. Also, you have a concussion and multiple bruises. Not to mention I think they took out your tonsils.”

Dan stared at her in disbelief. “What?”

“Just kidding about the tonsils. Everything else is true though,” she said with a grin. She held out her hand. “Hannah Hart, one third of the American Trifecta.”

Dan reached out with the arm that wasn’t in a sling, and shook her hand. His grip was weaker than normal. The American Trifecta… he remembered the name vaguely. “I’m-”

“Dan Howell, I know,” said Hannah, nodding her head, “You’re international news, Dan. Well, you and your friends. Stopping the experimentation of our people, exposing a corrupt government agency? Dude, that’s _nice._ ”

This was already moving too fast for him. His head ached. She produced a Styrofoam cup of water, and he gulped it down gratefully. Once he could think again, he spoke up. “Hannah, can you tell me why I’m not dead?” he said. The car had exploded, with him right beside it. It really should have killed him.

Hannah nodded. “Oh, easy. You’re practically made out of fire, as you know. Usually people die in car explosions because of burns, not because of the actual impact. And you can’t be burned; fire comes out of your skin. I mean, the explosion didn’t help, but it didn’t exactly hurt you much either, besides the collarbone,” she replied with an easy smile.

Dan nodded slowly. He was a little taken aback at how lightly this woman was taking things. “So,” he started, “What the hell happened after I was… indisposed.”

Hannah leaned back in the plastic hospital chair. “Well, let’s see. That’s when we showed up, some of the Trifecta and I. Like I said, you were fine, but your wolfy friend was toast. After that, we helped the rest of your team take care of the other creatures –pretty creepy, by the way- and send them back to their creators. Parliament is holding MI5 responsible for taking care of them however they see fit, the things just can’t stay in the city. Also, I think you have a new acting prime minister now. They kicked the old one out, or made him resign, or something. Not sure how those laws work. Anyway, he won’t be hurting any of us ever again.”

“Jesus,” Dan sighed, hanging on her every word.

“Exactly. Now, anyway. After we settled that, we found the rest of your team and after a few conversations with the mayor declared London safe again. Laws against mutants are already starting to be brought up for change. The press has been waiting for days for you to wake up, so they can ask you questions and whatnot,” Hannah concluded.

Dan’s eyes widened. Days? “Where’s Phil?” he asked quickly.

“Most likely asleep, or at least I hope,” she replied, “It’s about 7 am. I took the last shift of waiting for you to wake up, but Phil has the longest one. He’s amazing, cares about you a lot. A couple of your other friends have been watching for you to wake up as well. I’m actually covering for someone.”

“Who?” he wondered.

Hannah was about to answer when she looked up and pointed. “There she is,” she chirped.

Dan turned and he nearly couldn’t believe his eyes. Her hair was bright red now instead of the light blonde he knew, and braided down the side of her head. She smiled sheepishly as she leaned around the doorjamb to Dan’s hospital room.

_“Jenna?”_

Her smile grew a little brighter. “Welcome back to the land of the living,” she said.

Now his head really ached. “What are you…? Wha-what are you doing here? _Where did you go?”_ He asked so many questions all at once, he was surprised Jenna didn’t pick up and leave right then. But she didn’t, instead she walked in.

“I went home,” she said with a shrug of her shoulders, “I was angry about what was happening at The School-”

“Side note, is that really what you called it, like officially? That’s a shit name, man,” said Hannah Hart to Dan.

“I know, we don’t call it that anymore,” he explained briefly and looked back at Jenna, “Continue.”

Jenna gave Hannah a look and went on. “Anyway. I was angry, but only because I felt like all the people I helped were overthrowing me. I’m over that now, mostly because it was stupid, but also because I was super selfish about it. I should have stayed to help you and the rest of us who needed it. I’m sorry,” she said, and by the end of her speech she was staring down at her feet.

Dan swallowed. “No, it’s okay,” he said softly, “It all happened quickly, in retrospect. Why didn’t you just tell us where you went? How did you even get away?”

“Like I said, it was mostly spite. I stole a car from the junkyard and just drove. It took a lot of sweet talking these guys to get me back to the US,” Jenna responded, nodding her head towards Hannah.

The blonde shrugged. “We let her join the Trifecta,” she added.

“How did you even end up in Britain?” Dan asked his friend, suddenly wondering to himself why that question had never occurred to him before now.

“Family vacation,” Jenna said, as if unconcerned, “I was a kid, about ten, when I started to manifest. According to this one-” Hannah snapped her fingers into a gun shape towards Dan. “-powers start to show at a different age for everyone. I was seen by the wrong people and taken from my family right then. I don’t remember if they tried to do anything.”

“At least it was Louise who found you,” he said.

Jenna shrugged and glanced out the window. He could tell she still felt pretty bitter about her entire situation, and even if it was a little unfair Dan understood. Going on for how many years thinking you have some sort of power over your oppressors and then learning it’s a lie would mess up anyone, at least for a while. When the conversation ended, a slightly awkward silence fell over the room. Jenna shifted her weight.

“I’ll go get Phil, and a nurse,” she said finally, “I’m sure you need to be seen by both.”

Then she left the room. Hannah twiddled her thumbs, looking at Dan expectantly. He just raised his brow. She smiled toothily in return.

“Can you tell me about the Trifecta? Phil mentioned it was run by three women,” Dan began.

“Ah, yes. Like I said, one of the three is me, hence the trifecta part,” Hannah said, drawing a triangle in the air with her finger, “The other two are my friends, Grace and Mamrie. We run it because we all have similar, very unique abilities. Grace can absorb someone else’s power for a limited amount of time and use it, which is very cool. Like she could just touch you and then shoot flames from her hands.”

Dan’s eyes widened. “That’s a little troubling,” he admitted.

She shook her head. “Don’t worry, it doesn’t work with accidental touches. She has to do it with _purpose_. Anyway, Mamrie’s a shield. No one has been able to figure it out yet, but she can somehow project something to stop someone from using their powers. It’s kind of a terrible thing to feel. And I’m a reader. I can look at someone and just know if they’re a mutant, and what their power is.”

“That’s wicked. Do you go out and search for them?” Dan wondered. That sort of power was probably much faster and more precise than Louise’s method.

“Nah, that’s too conspicuous. We don’t hide or anything,” she assured at his confused expression, “But there’s still a lot of negative feelings towards our kind. But, if a situation arises, we’re fully allowed to show up and take in a kid who needs help. We have an entire school for it, but it’s only mandatory if the kid wants to join the team someday.”

Once again, Dan was hanging on Hannah’s every word. Phil was right; the Americans had a great system. He filed away some of her words for later, just in case his own team ever had a chance to develop something similar.

“Speaking of the team,” Hannah said brightly, “We brought a handful over with us. When you’re feeling up to it and are cleared for more visitors, you can meet them. They’re _dying_ to meet you.”

Dan said he would be happy to meet them. He was excited to see even more of those like him. He was curious to see what they could do. That’s when a nurse walked in and started in on the medical stuff. She checked his vitals and asked if he felt any pain. He didn’t, and the nurse informed him that that was because he was being pumped full of pain meds. The IV drip in his left arm seemed to prove that. While she explained the extent of his injuries, at one point the nurse moved just so that Dan could see past her. Phil was there in the door.

He didn’t look happy to see him this time. He was staring at the floor, his arms crossed, completely ignoring Dan’s gaze and the nurse while she talked. Dan looked at Hannah, who still sat beside him. She simply pursed her lips. Yeah, she knew Phil was going to be angry. Dan kicked himself for not expecting it as well.

“The conclusion on your calf is that you will be able to walk on it again,” the nurse was saying as Dan stared at Phil, “Everything just needs a little more time to heal. Over the next couple weeks if there’s significant improvement, we’ll start to lessen the dosages of the meds. You’ll feel the pain then, but it’ll be better for you in the long run. You’ll make a full recovery. Okay?”

The nurse was happy for him, he could tell. No doubt she was aware of what he went through. “Okay. Thank you,” he said to her and managed a smile.

She nodded once and said she’ll be back to check on him in a few hours, and then walked right by Phil into the hallway. Then Hannah stood up.

“I’ll leave you two alone,” she said. She squeezed Dan’s shoulder, a place that wasn’t close to an injury, and then left the room. He did catch Phil give her a grateful smile on her way out.

Then, Dan cleared his throat. “Phil-”

“Don’t,” his partner interrupted, holding up his hand as he slowly walked into the room, “I know what you’re going to say.”

Dan gulped and looked away. “What am I going to say, then?” he said.

“You’re going to say that there was no other choice. That the creature was going to kill you anyway. And maybe that’s true. You’re going to say that in the moment, it was all up to you. _You_ were being slammed into a car, _you_ were bleeding all over, _you_ had to end it,” Phil said, and sat at the foot of Dan’s bed, right at the edge. He wasn’t yelling, or spitting the words. He was just talking. Like he was exhausted. “You’re powerful, Dan. You’re a leader, and we all know it. And now, the entire world sees you as the hero of London. Willing to blow himself up rather than see that beast hurt more innocent people.”

“That’s not fair, Phil,” Dan said immediately, “All I saw was me, a spark, and gasoline. Do you blame me? I might have been a bit delirious, my head was bleeding.”

He looked at his lap, and if Dan looked close he could see he was grinding his teeth. “Okay, look, I get it. Adrenaline, not in the right mind, those are all well and good excuses. But don’t you see? By making that car explode, you killed that creature, and the rest of the pack went mad. My head felt like it was going to burst trying to hold them all in until the Trifecta got there. Which meant I could only rely on Zoe obsessively holding you and telling me you were alive while unconscious on the ground.”

He pursed his lips. “Is everyone okay?”

“See?” said Phil, waving his hand in Dan’s direction, “I’m trying to tell you that you broke our promise _again_ and you’re asking about everyone else. That’s called deflecting.”

Dan clenched his jaw. “They’re my friends, and I _had_ to. That thing wasn’t going to let up-”

Phil slapped his own knees so hard Dan shut right up. Still, his voice did not rise in volume. “This is what I’m talking about. They’re your friends, but you didn’t think to ask for help? You would rather solve everything yourself. There’s a point when heroism transforms into arrogance, Dan.”

His heart lurched uncomfortably at the word _arrogance._ Out of everything he had ever thought himself to be, arrogant was never something that Dan considered. Self-esteem was not his strong suit, and even though at the moment he still wouldn’t mark himself as better than anyone else, maybe Phil had a point. Now that he thought about it, Phil had been occupied but everyone else… Dan looked down at his lap.

“Well, when you put it that way…”

Phil reached over and clasped Dan’s hand. The brunette looked back up. “I know that’s a little harsh, but I just want you to see. Our friends are more than just our friends now. They’re our team. They look to us for guidance, but if you can’t even rely on me, how are they ever going to rely on both of us?” he said.

That stung a bit. It was well deserved. “I’m sorry, Phil. You’re right, it was stupid,” Dan muttered.

“Yeah, it was stupid,” he replied with a nod, “You and I are stuck together forever, you know. Might as well make the most of it,”

A smile crept onto Dan’s face. “Our names do match,” he relented, “Are you mad?”

Phil shook his head. “No. I was, for a bit while we waited for you to wake up. But just seeing you okay makes me feel so much better,” he said softly.

His smile growing, Dan squeezed the hand clasped in his own. Phil mirrored his expression and pulled his hand up to his mouth, placing a gentle kiss on Dan’s knuckles. “Heal quickly,” the taller boy continued, “We have lots to do.”

Lots to do indeed. Dan allowed the news of his being awake and okay to be spread, which meant a sudden influx of visitors and gifts. Anyone who was not directly related to Dan or his situation were mercifully kept out, because he heard enough thanks from watching the news than he ever needed to hear in his lifetime. Members of the team trickled in and out; Phil and Louise were there nearly all the time, when they weren’t dealing with the press, and Zoe, Chris, and PJ came by every day. Carrie came in one day and lifted her shirt to show Dan the angry scars on her stomach, cleaned and stitched since the last time he saw her. Jim was only a few doors down the hall, apparently recovering from a gunshot wound, as an MI5 agent’s rouge bullet had hit him in the thigh. Tanya almost never left his bedside. Caspar was actually upset he had missed the big fight, but he ‘supposed’ he was mollified when he saw how hurt everyone was, and Zoe told a gruesome tale.

She said right away that she had sent Joe home on the train to Brighton, but she didn’t want to leave Dan just in case something happened. He ended up using the ‘I’m in charge’ card and made her go see her family. Slowly, he told them all to try and visit home now that they could, instead of staying in the hotel they were put up in for all hours of the day. However, sadly, their old base in the mountains was the only home they had to go to.

He let the journalists come see him as well. As it turns out, every major news medium wanted an article with direct quotes from Dan and Phil. They always walked into Dan’s hospital room dressed to the nines and speaking their flattery, and while he smiled and answered their questions, Dan could always see right through them. This was a major story for them, but for their team it was life. And since the Beasts of London, which was the popular name for the incident, they would be expected to do more fighting and saving. Zoe had the right idea a couple days ago, though now it seemed like years. A genesis, she called it. The Mutant Genesis of Great Britain: headline and lifeline.

When it came to his injuries, Dan healed just as slowly as anyone else. Just as the nurse said, he was weaned off the pain meds, and he started to feel the pain, especially at night. Broken bones and lacerations turned out to be different kinds of pain. His leg and the back of his head burned and itched at the same time and he didn’t dare scratch them. His ribs and his collarbone emitted dull aches, and whenever Dan shifted he swore he could feel the broken bones pressing or grinding together. It was a little bit like his own personal hell, considering he couldn’t walk without help yet, and even though he was getting better he knew he had weeks of physical therapy to look forward to when this was over.

Weeks into his recovery, Dan got a surprise that he wasn’t expecting, one that he didn’t know he wanted until it happened. One afternoon while he sipped at a milkshake and watched a soap opera, Phil knocked on his wall.

Dan didn’t look away from the television. “What’s up?” he said.

“You have some visitors,” his partner replied. There was a pause, which caused Dan to glance over. Phil continued. “You might want to prepare yourself.”

He looked confused for only a moment, and then a woman appeared in the doorway. It was Dan’s mother, and behind her came his father and brother. For the better part of a year, Dan hadn’t been thinking about his family at all. And now they were suddenly here, and all he could do was stare.

“Dan,” his mother sighed, “We’re so happy you’re okay.”

He was speechless, and he gaped like a fish for several moments. “You… you’re actually here?” he managed to say.

Mrs. Howell took that as permission to walk in, so she bustled right over and sat as close to Dan on his bed as she could. Her husband was not far behind, while Adrien sort of lingered in the doorway. “We’re so sorry, darling,” she said, reaching up a tentative hand to brush some of Dan’s curls from his forehead, “You look like someone’s put you through a blender.”

“Or you were attacked by a wolf,” his father added.

“I was,” Dan supplied.

It looked as though his mum was about to burst into tears. “When we… told the hotline about you and your abilities, we didn’t know something terrible was going to happen to you. It all started when the prime minister started all that nonsense about the blood testing, and now it’s all over the news! The things that were done to you children are horrific,” she paused and reached out to squeeze his hand, “Please tell me you didn’t go through that.”

Dan shifted his left arm uncomfortably, as the place where an IV drip was in his vein suddenly itched. He tried not to think about that needle too much. “No. Louise picked me up sometime between home and where they were taking me. She’s been saving people like us for years,” he said. He supposed he ought to spare his mother the dirty details for now.

“We heard all about it on the radio one day,” she informed him, clasping Dan’s hand tightly in both of hers.

“In fact, she won’t shut up about Dr. Louise,” said his dad, and she gave him a dull slap on his arm.

Dan smiled. He supposed if anyone were the real hero, it would be Louise. “So, what have you guys been-”

He didn’t get the rest of his question out. “Daniel, honey, we’re sorry,” gushed his mother, again, “You’ve been here for weeks all injured, and we couldn’t make up our minds on if you would want to see us again. We walked in here fully expecting you to kick us right out, but your friend there said you’d want to see us. But we wouldn’t have blamed you.”

Phil was leaning in the doorway, smiling. Dan remembered when he was sure he never wanted to see his parents again, when he was convinced they hated him for his powers. That was a lifetime ago. Now, he knew he would need them just as much as he did then. “Stop saying you’re sorry, of course I want to see you,” he told them firmly.

“Just one more,” said Mr. Howell, “We’re sorry that you couldn’t trust us, or confide in us. Your… abilities may not something we know anything about, but they didn’t change you. We knew you were scared of them, and we sent you away instead of trying to help you.”

“To be fair, dad, that is what the government told you to do. And it ended up working out for the better,” Dan replied, glancing once again over at Phil. He winked in return.

His dad snorted. “You call _this_ ‘better’?” he said, gesturing to Dan in his hospital gown with his arm in a sling and bandages in multiple places.

Dan shrugged. “Could be worse. I could be trying to get a law degree.”

Both the Howells started to laugh, and his mother leaned over and kissed his brow. “Oh, I should have brought you flowers. Why didn’t we get flowers, James, these are dying,” she said to his dad, touching the wilting blooms beside Dan’s bed.

“There is a gift shop, you know,” he replied, rolling his eyes behind her back good-naturedly. Dan cracked another grin.

She promptly rose. “We are bringing you flowers, Danny. We will be right back,” she declared. She stood, and her husband followed, but she paused in the doorway beside Phil. “I’m sorry, young man, but I don’t think we ever asked who you were,” she said.

He smiled warmly. “Phil Lester,” he said, holding out his hand.

Dan’s parents each shook. “You’re the one we’ve been hearing about, you and Dan are in charge,” said Mr. Howell.

“We’re so proud,” Mrs. Howell interjected, looking towards Dan.

“You’re the ice guy, right?”

“That’d be me,” Phil nodded, “I’m also Dan’s boyfriend.”

They were both quiet then. Adrien’s eyes widened, the first emotion Dan saw on his brother’s face since he walked in. Dan looked at Phil and moved his hand across his neck in a sporadic cutting motion. He had never, _ever_ brought a boy home or mentioned the possibility of even liking one before.

His mother spoke up first. “Oh, well, how sweet,” she said. She moved in for a hug and squeezed Phil around the shoulders. “Thank you for taking care of him,” she said and then looked at Dan, “We’ll be right back with flowers, love.”

She walked out. His dad clapped Phil on the shoulder once before following. Phil looked at Dan with a very I-told-you-so expression. “ _Danny_ , _”_ he mouthed. Dan shook his head, and then Adrien cleared his throat. He had been quiet this whole exchange, but then again he had always been quiet.

“So, you’re mutated,” he muttered. His voice was lower, and Dan could swear he was taller too. They as brothers had never been close, but he could notice some things.

“I am.”

“Cool,” Adrien said, and his eyes trailed down to Dan’s hand, resting in his lap. _Oh, I see_ , Dan thought and flipped it over, palm up. A flame lit up his hand, which was carefully lifted away from the blanket to avoid a disaster. He watched his brother’s eyes widen, and then he extinguished it before any smoke alarms could go off. “ _Cool,_ ” Adrien said again, this time with enthusiasm and a smile, “Do you still burn things?”

Dan smirked. “Only if they piss me off.”

* * *

 

It was much too hot to wear a suit and tie. Why were there no trees? Why was everything concrete? _Why does the mayor talk so much?_

“Stop fidgeting,” Louise whispered, elbowing Dan in the arm that was not still in a sling, “You’ll be fine. Just make sure your answers are long-winded enough.”

“It’s so fucking _hot_. You’re lucky, being a girl and getting to wear a dress,” he grumbled, pulling at the collar of his dress shirt.

“You could have worn one if you wanted to.”

“That is unfortunately not socially acceptable.”

Louise chuckled, and he could practically feel her rolling her eyes behind her sunglasses. They were standing behind a podium currently being held by the mayor of London, who was singing Dan and Phil’s praises. He was going to make sure that every microphone at this press conference knew all about what really happened with the Beasts of London. Finally, everyone was going to hear from Dan Howell himself in his first public appearance since being out of the hospital.

In June. In the sun. Brilliant.

He turned desperately to Phil. “Can’t you do it?” he whined pathetically.

Phil chuckled. “They have questions for you,” he said.

“Yeah, but we’re basically one person,” Dan complained, pressing his forehead on his boyfriend’s shoulder, “And literally the whole world will be watching. I’ll be on TV. What if I screw up?”

“I don’t think it’ll be the _entire_ world,” he said, putting his arm around Dan’s shoulders.

Louise shrugged and added calmly, “I estimate at least almost a billion people watching. That’s not even close to the whole world.” The boys gave her a look. “What?”

They looked away, and it seemed like the mayor was finally finishing up his speech. “Now, what I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for, healed and out of the hospital we have the spearhead of the saving of our city. While we’ve picked the brains of Dove until we’re unsure if he’s got any left,” a pause as the crowd chuckled, “I’m sure we all need to hear from the Hawk. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Daniel Howell.”

Dan took one last steadying breath and with a little difficulty from his right leg, climbed the steps to the podium. And just like that, his nerves were gone. It was like being on stage. Phil and Louise were not far and stood behind him. Dan waved with his free hand amongst applause and the flashes of cameras, and then they started shouting his name, all vying to be called on. Dan felt a bit like a schoolteacher. At the edge of the crowd, he could see the five visiting members of the Trifecta watching with encouraging smiles. Hannah Hart waved. Hesitantly, Dan pointed at a woman in front of him.

“Mr. Howell, how do you feel about the term mutant?” she asked, quick and to the point.

“Well, I feel like it fits,” he replied, “Considering me, and those like me, have mutated genes to cause our powers, I’d say mutant is exactly what we are.” He pointed to another journalist.

“Have you ever hurt anyone with your powers?” he asked, and Dan noticed he was nearly swallowing his voice recorder.

“No, I’ve never hurt a person. However, I have singed many inanimate objects, including a few trees in my home town,” Dan responded. Questions just started coming rapid fire then, impatient with Dan’s choosing strategy.

“Do you consider other mutants dangerous to the average person?”

“No,” he said firmly, “We’ve never seen someone with powers destructive and uncontrolled enough to be dangerous. Leaving them untrained is dangerous, not to mention scary. Allowing mutant children to learn to control their abilities will make everyone’s lives happier and easier, and it will just help our team to grow. Make sure you contact us if your kid has any… peculiarities.”

“Is that what you are now? A team?”

Dan nodded. “Yes. After saving London, my friends and I have decided to dedicate our times and our lives to keeping the people of Britain safe with our unique abilities. Negotiations with Parliament are currently underway to repeal former Prime Minister Page’s legislation against mutants and to make us an independent agency.”

A female journalist pounced in right at the end of his statement while there was a smattering of agreed applause. “What is your opinion on Page and his beliefs?”

Dan swallowed and was silent for a few beats. “Page used fear to control people. He alienated mutants from the public for being different, just so he could be free to do his evil science experiments. There is a better way to learn about us. Dr. Pentland,” he pointed behind him at Louise, “Has every piece of information you could ever need on mutants. Page’s experiments were inhumane and often killed people. _Children._ And as we saw, made people into uncontrollable monsters. We made sure to shut them down as soon as we could.”

Another hand went up. “Mr. Howell, will you lead this new agency as well?”

“Yes,” Dan said, “Along with my partner Phil Lester, without whom nothing would ever get done. Not to mention our amazing first tier, who helps make decisions.”

“What makes you fit to lead?”

That gave Dan pause. Some cameras took advantage of his dumbfounded expression. He cleared his throat. “Well, Phil and I were voted in by our peers when they needed guidance. They also named us Hawk and Dove. Together they taught us how to work as a duo. We’ve all shed blood for each other. We would be nothing without the team behind us,” he said, “And leading is not something you can prepare for. You’re either born with it or you’re not. Following someone blindly is when we end up with situations like the Beasts of London. I’ve heard on numerous occasions that people are like sheep. Mutants may be people, but at least we’re sheep with wolves’ teeth.”

That earned some chuckles from the crowd. Dan smiled and moved his attention to yet another hand. “What will you call your new team?”

“The Mutant Genesis of Great Britain,” he said importantly. “Or just Genesis. Or maybe the MGGB. I’m behind whatever catches on, honestly.”

Soon it was over, and with Phil’s help Dan descended from the podium. His leg was still hurting. “You were brilliant,” Phil said with a grin.

“Was I? I wouldn’t know, I think I blacked out.”

Louise was all smiles as well. “This is amazing. After this, we’ll soon have nearly everyone believing in us. There will always be people who are afraid of those who are different… but once we start saving their lives, there will be less,” she said and pulled out her shiny new smart phone, “Four missed calls! Yikes. Let’s go, boys, still have loads to do, including a birthday party.” She nudged Dan’s shoulder, and that jogged his memory. It was in fact his nineteenth birthday today. Through everything, the date must have slipped his mind.

She went ahead, heading to where they parked their car. Dan immediately started shedding clothing, starting with his tie and suit jacket. “Can we skip the party?” he asked.

“No,” Phil said firmly, “We’re celebrating and you’re going to freaking like it.”

Dan stared at him. “Yes, sir,” he murmured.

Phil smiled and leaned forward to peck Dan on the lips. “They need it as much as you do. It’s an excuse to just have fun,” he said.

“Fine. Lets go back to being an underdeveloped superhero team later,” Dan said, rolling up his sleeves and throwing his jacket over his shoulder, which looked quite comical with his arm in a sling.

Phil took his free hand, lacing their fingers together. “You know we’re not just an underdeveloped superhero team,” he retorted.

“I know,” Dan smiled. And Phil wasn’t just his partner. They weren’t just trying to be heroes. This wasn’t just a mission to end discrimination, and it wasn’t just a boarding school drama with a twist.

It was an origin story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FIN.
> 
> (Stay tuned for a little something special. )


	20. Ackowledgements and Teaser

**First of all, I want to say THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to _all_ of you readers out there, no matter if you’ve stuck around since chapter 1 or have just discovered this now. I would have never gathered the muse to finish this story without you. Now, I have some specific acknowledgments to make so bear with me.**

**_On AO3_ : thank you to commenters Tastefulcucumber, Cloud, somuchcherryeverywhere, thedemonexperiment, Eni, DragonRider979, LoyalSins, Senpai_Jolteon2002, fangirlatheart, Bobcatmama, and leonerdmccoy. Your comments always stood out to me and made me happy.**

**_On fanfiction_ : thank you to reviewers justslightlyobsessed, NerdsxUnite, Never Ending Nightmare, Diana Luna Night, mayuhluh, AJohnlockAddict, Delusional Fujoshi, CrazyBlueOwl (I am a girl, but thank you for being inclusive), ChibiCreep, SupernaturalPhanGrrl, and numerous amazing Guests. Your reviews were detailed and always made me smile.**

**_On wattpad_ : thank you to commenters aloneinacorner, ishiptheworld3, ArielCollins, Enchantedevening, PhanAF454, KelinEscobar, thatonegeekgirl, and sydneygoodness. Thank you for your time and nice words!**

**And a special thank you to enivern on Tumblr, who drew a beautiful piece of art of my Hawk and Dove. You are seriously the best, especially since I wrote this while imagining it as a comic book in my head.**

**Thank yous are over, now for some shameless self-promotion. I can be reached on any of my accounts where this is posted, and I will get back to messages whenever I can. You’ll always be able to find me on my twitter @Emmazing15 and my personal Tumblr blog, effortlesslyemma.tumblr.com. You can also see my writing blog wordsaremything and my Phan blog daninator-and-rickyblitz (both with the standard url). _Please_ do not hesitate to send me questions about my work or about anything really, I will always talk. And I will talk for ages about what I’ve written especially.**

**Now that that’s done, here is what I’m sure you’re really here for, a teaser scene from the sequel, _Hawk and Dove: Consumption._**

* * *

 

The music was so loud that the bass caused ripples in Dan’s glass of water. He held it firmly in place with his right hand, while his left tapped the heavy drumbeat on his knee. His glass was sweating; it was hot in the room, from all the people and their dancing. Not that he minded much. Dan welcomed the heat, but still his suit jacket was tossed over the back of his chair, and his tie hung loosely around his unbuttoned collar.

When he looked up from his glass of water, Zoe had appeared, her boyfriend in tow. Her forehead was shiny with sweat, even in her short dress. “What a party, huh?” she asked with a bright smile, “The music is great.”

“You’d think we were at a rave instead of a wedding!” Alfie agreed, also sweating from keeping up with Zoe’s love of dancing.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect this much of Louise when I met her,” Mamrie Hart added from across the table, “But damn if I’m not psyched about it.”

Zoe laughed. “Matt’s really loosened her up a bit,” she said.

Dan raised his glass of water. “The brain surgeon from paradise,” he teased.

Just then, Hannah and Phil returned from the bar. They each had a round of shots. “Just in time!” Hannah noted, nodding to Dan’s water glass. She promptly took it and replaced it with a shot.

“This better not be tequila,” Grace said with a grimace as she took her own glass.

“It is,” Phil supplied chirpily, taking his seat beside Dan.

Grace continued to frown, and Mamrie clapped her on the shoulder. “It’ll put hair on your chest,” she told her.

Everyone laughed and Hannah raised her shot glass. “To hair on our chests!”

“To Louise and Matt,” Zoe corrected through her giggles.

Everyone toasted to Louise and her new husband and downed their shots. It did _not_ taste good, but when in Rome, Dan supposed. There were only so many weddings a person went to in their lifetime. Might as well help celebrate by getting respectfully drunk. Zoe and Alfie disappeared back into the throng of people dancing, which was unsurprising. Dan was glad they were having fun.

Then _Single Ladies_ came on and Hannah jumped to her feet. She tugged on Grace’s arm. “Come on, we have to dance, it’s _Beyoncé!_ ” the former cried, “Plus, we’re both single ladies.”

Grace groaned in complaint, but rose from her chair anyway. “Hang on,” she said. She grabbed another shot glass and tossed it back like it was water. “Wait, I also have to see our secretary real fast-”

“She was already here, I talked to her, now stop making excuses!” Mamrie interjected, who was back to drinking her cocktail.

Dan frowned, giving Mamrie a questioning look. “Your secretary is here?”

“I thought you were on vacation,” Phil agreed.

Mamrie shrugged. “We’re supposed to be, but it’s hard for us to stop working, you know?” she said and took a long gulp of her drink.

The boys exchanged a look. This was about their only day off, ever, and even now there were still people back at the base taking care of things. Dan and Phil were only a call away, but it had to be an absolute emergency. The Trifecta members had come all the way from America, after all, they must have a lot to take care of.

“Let’s not think about work,” Dan said, grabbing two shot glasses and handing one to Mamrie, “At least for right now. We have a wedding to enjoy.”

Phil grabbed one for himself. “I think the world will make it through one day without us,” he said.

“Hear hear!” Mamrie chirped, raising her glass. They all clinked together and downed them at the same time. Mamrie came up coughing, and snatched up her napkin to muffle it.

Phil leaned in close to Dan. “Shall we go dance too?” he whispered.

“You really want to subject yourself to that?” Dan teased in reply, quirking a brow.

“Very funny,” he said, rolling his eyes, “You said we should enjoy it though, right? Louise would never forgive us if we sat around for the entire reception- are you okay?”

Mamrie was still coughing. Dan gave her a worried look, but she just waved her hand at Phil’s question. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” she said, dropping her napkin on the table and standing up, “Come on, slow-mos, you’re dancing with me!”

Phil turned to Dan and pecked him quickly on the mouth. “Now we have no choice,” he said and darted from his seat to catch up with Mamrie.

Dan deposited his tie on the chair and was right behind them, when he spotted something on the table that gave him pause. Mamrie’s napkin was sitting on the table beside her almost empty glass but that wasn’t what caught his attention. Black spots discolored the white fabric, as if a fountain pen had dripped ink onto it. Dan curiously picked it up and looked closer. None of the other napkins were like this… why would this one be stained, with black of all things?

“Daniel!” Mamrie called over the music.

Dan looked up, his attention drawn back to the wedding and the dancing. He dropped the napkin and decided that it was just a fluke; someone messed up and got something on it. He joined his friends to enjoy the rest of the evening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the love.


End file.
